Freezing temperatures, snow, ice blanket China, shutting highways

Chinese authorities limit traffic flows on highways due to icy patches, snowfall & low visibility as temperatures drop to below freezing.

Chinese authorities limited traffic flows on highways on December 15 in several provinces after vehicles collided on icy patches as temperatures plummeted to below freezing across most of the country.

Temperatures will drop to as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang and the western region of Xinjiang, along with Inner Mongolia and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, according to forecasts from China's National Meteorological Centre.

The cold wave moving through the country from north to south is expected to drag temperatures lower into the weekend, even as Meteorological Centre says rain and snow will decrease.

In Henan province, snowfall and icy roads along with heavy fog caused multiple accidents on several expressways leading to traffic controls.

Traffic authorities in Ningxia province said some of its highways have become unsafe and implemented temporary traffic measures as snow fell.

Ferries and some buses were temporarily suspended early on December 15 in Shanghai as the financial hub issued its first cold wave warning of the year as cold air from the north is forecast to reduce temperatures to as low as minus 6C this weekend.

In the southwest, sections of many national and provincial highways in Tibetan cities such as Shigatse and Nyingchi were blocked due to snow, ice and low visibility as the skies have dumped snow since December 11.