Many areas in northern China were blanketed with floating sand and dust on Thursday, and a sandstorm was expected to sweep through parts of Inner Mongolia. The sandy, dusty weather and strong winds will last until Sunday, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement, adding the public should take precautionary measures to guard against poor air quality.
Cold weather has come back in China after a brief reprieve, leaving farmers and commuters across the country in the dark and affecting energy supplies, state media reports. Temperatures in the south were near record lows on Monday, and freezing rain is forecast for parts of Guizhou province over the next week.
The Huizhou in the far southern province of Guangdong saw a record-low temperature for mid-December, and agriculture products worth $220 million were damaged by the cold, the China News Service reported on Tuesday.
A cold snap has hit most of the country, with temperatures falling close to freezing and wind gusts ranging from mild to downright chilly. As a result, several airports in the central and northern regions have closed their doors, including Dalian, the gateway to northeast China’s Liaoning province.
The big three: Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and northern China
A cold front is set to hit most of the country from December 22 to 25, bringing a mixture of snow, rain, and strong winds. The cold has already sparked an emergency power cut in some provinces, and coal supplies at 14 power stations have been cut by a third.