Freezing temperatures in northern China trigger alert

China issues low-temperature alert as President Xi urges "all-out efforts" to ensure safety in face of record-breaking cold.

China on December 16 issued a low-temperature alert, warning the mercury could drop to historic lows in some areas of the country, one day after President Xi Jinping urged “all-out efforts” to ensure safety.

The freezing weather comes on the heels of this winter’s first snowfall in Beijing, where the public transport system faced delays, flights were cancelled and slippery tracks caused a metro collision on Dec. 14 evening that injured more than a hundred people.

The country’s meteorological authorities on Dec. 16 morning issued a low-temperature warning that forecasted a cold wave across “the greater part” of China that will last until Dec. 19.

State news agency Xinhua, meanwhile, cited authorities in saying “Some areas in northern China and regions along the Yellow River and Huaihe River might see their temperatures near or break record lows for the same period of the year”.

Defying the already frosty weather, tourists in Beijing braved biting winds on Dec. 16 at the portion of the Great Wall located in the mountains surrounding the city, where the iconic monument sat covered in a thin layer of snow.

Unusually cold weather is also expected to extend into other parts of China, with a Dec. 16 official warning adding that temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or lower in coming days were expected in the southern part of Guizhou Province — about 300 km from the border with Vietnam.

As the country braced for the mercury dip, President Xi Jinping called for “all-out efforts in emergency response”, state media reported on Dec. 15 evening.