Society

China to experience icy weather this week

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-16 21:19

BEIJING - China will experience wide-spread freezing weather in the coming week, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast Sunday as it warned of possible travel chaos as millions of Chinese head home for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Until Friday, rain, snow and ice will pummel many parts of China, after freezing weather caused mass evacuations and disrupted transportation networks in south China earlier in the month.

According to the NMC forecast, more rain and snow are expected to hit the country's southwestern regions, which have endured a prolonged cold spell since the New Year Holiday.

The NMC said most parts of Guizhou, northeast Yunnan, some regions in Guangxi in northwest China, and southern Hunan would see icy rains over the next three days.

Heavy snow are also expected in some regions in Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hunan, the NMC forecast.

Meanwhile, south Qinghai Province and most areas along the middle-and-low reaches of the Yangtze River will also see rain or snow during the next three days.

Figures from the country's Ministry of Civil Affairs showed icy weather and sleet had forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people from their homes in southwest China's Guizhou Province between January 1 and 12.

Experts have warned the new round of freezing weather may cause greater disruption to the nation's transportation and power systems than the earlier one.

Hordes of migrant workers will soon head home for Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival. The period is the busiest for China's transportation systems. The holiday, a time for family reunions, falls on February 3 this year.

In early 2008, freezing weather across southern China caused power cuts and transport chaos, preventing many residents from spending the holiday with their families.