Cold snap leaves many freezing in NW China

• Source: Global Times
• [02:22 December 24 2009]
• Comments

A woman walks in the snow in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 23. 2009. The temprature in some parts of the autonomous region fell to 40 degreeds below zero due to the affection of the strong old air blowing from Siberia. (Xinhua photo)

A cold snap hit Northwestern China Wednesday, bringing chaos, including flight delays, traffic jams and stoppages in power and heat supplies.

Heavy snow blanketed most parts of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Tuesday night, bringing down the low temperature to minus 40 C in the north and east of the far western region.

In some areas, it packed winds sweeping at up to 100 kilometers per hour, a local weather bureau spokesman said.

"This is by far the worst cold snap of this winter," he said. "It was a result of chilling factors from western Siberia."

Two expressways in the region were closed Wednesday amid the snow.

In the Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Ili, the snow began at 7 pm Tuesday and stopped at 2 am.

It cut off power and heat supplies in Yining.

Power resumed Wednesday morning and repair work was continuing to restore the heating system.

More than 200 vehicles were stranded on the zigzagging mountain roads in the Ili River Valley Tuesday night, when the fresh snow measured at least 20 centimeters deep, a traffic policeman said.

The snow closed the international airport in Urumqi Wednesday, with more than 3,800 passengers stranded. A total of 42 flights to other cities were delayed, said the Xinjiang Airport Group.