Heavy snowfall and storms have caused chaos in Mongolia and northern China. In Mongolia, several people died while looking for their herds. In China, schools were closed and roads closed.
Several people have died in Mongolia after a severe winter outbreak. On Sunday, six women, a man and a 12-year-old boy died in the snowstorms while they were out looking for their flocks. This was announced by the Mongolian emergency authority.
Search parties found the bodies in the central provinces of Öwörchangai and Erdenesant in the country between China and Russia with 3.3 million inhabitants and an area four times the size of Germany.
Highest warning level for parts of China
In addition, storms and heavy snowfall in northern China led to traffic chaos. The central weather agency predicted heavy snowstorms and issued the highest warning level for parts of the country. The provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia were particularly affected. People should therefore spend as little time outdoors as possible.
Meteorologists expected up to 30 centimeters of fresh snow locally. The National Meteorological Center said the snowfall was likely to break “historic records.”
Due to the heavy snowfall, kindergartens and schools in several districts in Heilongjiang’s provincial capital Harbin were canceled. About 24,000 workers were sent to clear snow on the streets of the city of about 5.2 million people, according to a report in the state-run China Daily newspaper. The airport there canceled dozens of flights.
Expressways closed and flights canceled
Major highways in the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang province were closed, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In addition, flights were canceled
In the capital Beijing, the authorities also turned up the heating a good week earlier than planned. In China there is otherwise a set start date from which the heaters in most residential buildings start to warm up.