Brutal cold follows rare April snow in Beijing

After a rare April snowstorm blanketed Beijing and surrounding areas with snow on Wednesday, brutal cold will take hold in the rest of the week.

The spring snowstorm dropped the first April snow in Beijing since 1988, with accumulated snow 10-13 cm thick in most areas.

The snow affected transportation during rush hours.

On Wednesday afternoon, neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province were also hit by snow.

Affected by freezing air, the snow also hit parts of Heilongjiang province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with strong wind and sandstorm in some areas of Xinjiang.

Beijing's meteorological authorities issued a blue alert for a heavy snowstorm on Wednesday afternoon.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Traditionally, during China's Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, there will be cold and rainy for a few days and gradual rise in temperatures will be seen nationwide after the solar term.

According to China’s National Meteorological Center, temperatures in some northern cities, like Taiyuan, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang, may drop by 20 degrees Celsius to return to wintry weather, with highest temperature plunging from 30 to 10 degrees Celsius.

Traditionally, during China's Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, there will be cold and rainy for a few days. And gradual rise in temperatures will be seen nationwide after the solar term.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)