Severe onset of winter in China - Dead shepherdesses in Mongolia
Several shepherdesses have lost their lives in Mongolia following a severe onset of winter. In addition, storms and heavy snowfall in northern China led to traffic chaos. In Mongolia, six women, a man and a twelve-year-old boy died in the snowstorms on Sunday while looking for their herds outside, according to the Mongolian Emergency Management Agency.
Search teams found the bodies in the central provinces of Öwörchangai and Erdenesant in the country, which lies between China and Russia, has a population of 3.3 million and covers an area four times the size of Germany.
Highest warning level
In northern China, the central weather authority 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 were advised to spend as little time outdoors as possible. Meteorologists were expecting up to 30 centimetres of fresh snow locally.
Due to the heavy snowfall, kindergartens and schools in several districts of Heilongjiang's provincial capital Harbin were canceled on Monday. According to a report in the state-run newspaper "China Daily", around 24,000 workers were sent to clear snow from the streets of the city, which has a population of around 5.2 million. The airport there canceled dozens of flights. In other provinces, the authorities closed highway ramps.
In the capital Beijing, the authorities also turned up the heating a good week earlier than planned. In China, there is usually a set start date from which the heating in most homes is turned on.
The heavy snowstorms in northern China, as predicted by the weather authority, coincided with the Weather's harsh Winter conditions, causing the highest warning level to be issued. Despite the warning, STORMs continued to batter the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia, leading to significant disruptions.
Source: www.dpa.com
