Bracing for blizzards, Beijing suspends schools

Beijing, Dec 13 (IANS) Primary schools, secondary schools and kindergartens in Beijing suspended classes on Wednesday as the Chinese capital is bracing for an intense blizzard.

The Beijing Municipal Education Commission decided to adopt temporary home learning starting Wednesday after the city's meteorological authority issued an orange alert for blizzards late Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The capital will quickly make preparations for online teaching, and the resumption of in-person classes will be notified later, according to the commission.

The city is also on alert for icy roads and a cold wave.

Beijing has already experienced its first round of heavy snowfall this winter, which occurred from late Sunday to Monday. There are still visible patches of snow across the city.

According to the Beijing Meteorological Observatory, the city is expected to experience heavy to intense snowfalls from Wednesday morning to Friday morning.

On Saturday, night-time minimum temperatures are expected to drop to as low as minus 15 degrees Celsius.

In response to the orange alert for blizzards, the city's meteorological authority has encouraged the public to take safety precautions on the road.

Scenic areas in mountainous regions are required to temporarily close, while large-scale outdoor recreational facilities in non-mountainous areas should suspend operations, local authorities said.

Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) on Wednesday issued a yellow alert for blizzards, forecasting intense snowfall in north of the country.

Parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan provinces will be hit by heavy snow from Wednesday to Thursday morning, it said.

The NMC also issued a new yellow alert for a cold wave, predicting that temperatures in most parts of China will drop by 8 to 12 degrees Celsius from Wednesday to Saturday.

In addition, the centre issued a new yellow alert for ice warning for parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Shandong and Hubei provinces, forecasting freezing rain.