CHINA> Regional
|
CHINA> Regional
|
|
Fog shrouds Chinese provinces, freezing rain hits Beijing
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-09 20:41 BEIJING: Fog shrouds eastern Chinese provinces Monday and disrupted traffic, while Beijing saw a rare sleet in November.
Two people were missing after two freighters collided in the waters off Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, in a thick fog at 4:30 am, said a spokesman with the Zhoushan Bureau of Maritime Affairs.
In Shandong Province, visibility dropped to well below 50 meters due to heavy fog in Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Dezhou and Weifang cities, forcing the closure of a dozen of highways. Meanwhile, ice droplets about 2 to 5 mm in diameter were reported falling across Beijing. The capital's meteorological station said the icy rain would be followed by snow Monday evening, and the sleet would continue to Thursday. Zhang Mingying, senior engineer with the station, said sleet in Beijing was rare in November, and the average temperature this week was about six degrees Celsius below average for the time of year. December was the usual month for icy weather, he said. Beijing residents are not familiar with frozen rain. A man surnamed Wei said he thought it was hail. "The ice battered my car window as I was driving along Chang'an Avenue. I was surprised," he said. "It hit the windows of my home loudly, and I was surprised it was not rain but ice," said a resident of Wanjing community in eastern Beijing. Zhang Qiang, director of the Beijing Weather Modification Office, said the office had not used artificial means to accelerate the rain on Monday, but it would monitor the clouds and, if necessary, resort to means to enhance the rain or snow to ease the lingering drought. The office launched weather rockets to enhance Beijing's first snow fall this year on November 1. "We won't miss any opportunity for artificial precipitation since Beijing is suffering from a lingering drought," said Zhang. The Beijing Environment and Sanitation Engineering Group Co. Ltd. had made preparations for the pending snowfall. Zhang Zhiqiang, an official in charge of road cleaning in the company, said it had prepared 2,000 tons of snow-thawing agents and had 420 workers on post and 126 snow-clearing vehicles ready for melting and clearing ice and snow from the roads. Neighboring Henan and Hebei provinces also saw rain and sleet on Monday. |
