Heavy snowfall grinds China to a halt

Beijing authorities are struggling to clear the roads throughout the city after the heaviest snowfall is almost 60 years. Schools are also suffering in the cold weather as the majority of them have been closed and thousands of people have been immobilised. Around two million children have been told to stay away from their schools until Tuesday at the earliest with more than 3,500 schools affected by the bad weather. Around 12 inches of snow landed into the capital city of China along with Tianjin, which is a port city located just a few miles away.

The international airport in Beijing is closed and thousands of travellers have been stranded and over 30 highways have been shut down. Local residents have been ordered to form local groups that must work to clear the snow and ice in a bid to bring some normality back to the roads. South Korea has also been affected as cancellations and delays are rife. The last time Beijing saw snow this heavy and thick was back in 1951 and authorities along with local working groups are working hard to shift the snow.

The inner-city roads are covered in a blanket of ice but are carrying some slow-moving traffic. Authorities have warned that gas prices and food prices could go up as a result of the inclement weather and flight and travel delays could carry on well into next week before the capital sees any signs of positive changes. No more snow is forecasted over the coming few days but there are forecasts of snow to hit other parts of the country.