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BEIJING : A freezing front swept over much of northern China on Sunday with snowstorms snarling New Year traffic and air travel, and some of the lowest temperatures in decades are forecast for the next few days.
Snow storms were expected to continue through Monday and the mercury was set to plunge in the next 48 hours when China returns to work following a three-day New Year holiday, the Beijing meteorological station said.
Gale force winds sweeping down from Siberia could result in temperatures as low as minus 16 degrees Celsius (minus three degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital on Monday and Tuesday, it added.
According to the Beijing Youth Daily, such temperatures would be the lowest in the capital in 40 years.
Heavy snows greatly hampered traffic at Beijing Capital Airport where about 90 per cent of all flights were delayed or cancelled on Sunday, the last day of the holiday, China Central Television said.
Over 500 flights were delayed and about 400 flights were cancelled, stranding thousands of passengers, it said.
To ensure safety under the snowy, icy and foggy conditions, only one of the airport's three runways were in operation much of Sunday, reports said.
Travellers were urged to call ahead to check on the status of flights before making the trip to the airport.
Inbound and outgoing flights at other airports in north China were also experiencing similar delays and cancellations, they said.
Major highways in Beijing and Tianjin, as well as in the surrounding provinces and regions of Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia were closed due to the heavy snowfall earlier Sunday, but some of the roads opened up later in the day, China Central Television said.
Long-distance bus travel in north China was also being hampered by the weather, but the nation's rail system was operating normally, reports said.
With snows expected to continue in the region throughout the night, traffic was likely to become even more snarled when the nation returns to work on Monday, the reports said. - AFP/so/ms
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