Local authorities have issued a rare storm alert as winds reach 150 kph, battering the country’s northern regions
China has urged residents in the northern part of the country who weigh less than 50kg to stay indoors, warning they could be “easily blown away” as powerful winds sweep through the region, according to local media.
The country’s weather agency has issued five warnings for this weekend, covering wind, rain, snow, and thunderstorms, with gusts reaching level 13; wind strength is measured on a scale from one to 17. According to the China Meteorological Administration, level 11 winds can cause “serious damage,” while level 12 winds bring “extreme destruction.”
An orange-level wind alert – the second-highest in China’s four-tier system – was issued in the capital on Friday for the first time in a decade.
The storm, triggered by a cold vortex moving south from Mongolia, brought gusts of up to 150 kph across Beijing, Tianjin, and parts of Hebei. Authorities warned that the winds were strong enough to uproot trees with trunks up to 30cm in diameter.
To minimize damage, city parks were closed and older trees were trimmed or reinforced. Despite these measures, nearly 300 trees have been knocked over, damaging several vehicles. No injuries were reported. Officials also advised Beijing’s 22 million residents to avoid non-essential travel.
“Everyone in Beijing was really nervous about it. Today there are hardly any people out on the streets. However, it wasn’t as severe as I had imagined,” one resident told Reuters. Another local, a 30-year-old with the last name Li, added: “It wasn’t as severe as I had imagined – not to the point where it was impossible to go out – though it is having some impact on daily life.”
The storm has also disrupted transport. More than 400 flights were canceled at Beijing Capital International Airport, and several rail services were suspended. While supermarkets remained open, shelves were quickly emptied.
In Hebei’s Shijiazhuang and Laiyuan County, falling trees and debris forced road closures, and sandstorms prompted additional nighttime shutdowns.
Further west, Gansu and Ningxia also reported sandstorms, with visibility dropping to 50 meters in some areas.
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