Strong Winds Hit Beijing: Flights Canceled, Parks Closed

Photo: Reuters

On Saturday, strong winds hit Beijing and other parts of northern China, causing big problems for travel and daily life.

By 11:30 in the morning, local time, more than 800 flights had been cancelled at Beijing’s two main airports. The wind gusts reached up to 93 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour) — the strongest winds in Beijing in over 50 years. Because of this, many popular tourist spots and historic places were closed.

Millions of people were told to stay indoors on Friday. Some news outlets even said that people weighing less than 50 kilograms (about 110 pounds) could be blown away by the powerful winds.

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Train services were also affected. The express train line to the airport and some fast high-speed trains were stopped. Parks around the city were closed too. Workers had tried to protect old trees by trimming or tying them, but still, about 300 trees fell due to the wind.

Several cars were damaged, but no one was hurt. Most people in Beijing listened to the government’s warnings and stayed home. Around 22 million residents were asked to avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.

A local resident told Reuters, “Everyone in Beijing was really nervous about it. Today, there are hardly any people outside. But honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined.”

A businessman from Zhejiang province said his flight was cancelled. “Because of the strong winds, all flights last night and today were cancelled. I think I’ll rebook my flight in a few days. For now, I’m stuck in Beijing,” he said.

The strong winds are coming from a weather system called a cold vortex over Mongolia, and the winds are expected to continue through the weekend.

Beijing gave out an orange alert for strong winds — the first one in 10 years. The worst of the wind was expected on Saturday.

In China, wind speeds are measured on a special scale from level 1 to level 17. A level 11 wind can cause serious damage, and a level 12 wind brings extreme destruction. The winds over the weekend were expected to be between level 11 and level 13.

Weather experts say the wind should calm down by Sunday.