Beijing is experiencing the first snow of the winter which fell in the dry and grey city in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The snow started at 2:40 AM and is forecast to continue till noon. Yanqing district in Beijing's northeastern suburbs had the heaviest fall which totaled 3.7 millimeters by 8:00 AM, said the municipal meteorological bureau.

 

 

Four other suburban districts, Changping, Mentougou, Shunyi and Fangshan, got more than 2.5 millimeters of snow apiece, the bureau said. The snow was "moderate" in most parts of the city.

 

The snow blanketed the Chinese capital and slowed traffic in the morning rush hour. Traffic slowed to less than 20 kilometers per hour on at least 90 urban roads but no highways were closed, said the road traffic management bureau. They sent over 3,000 traffic police onto downtown roads early morning.

 

Traffic congestion on slippery roads caused a lot of difficulties for city workers. Most of them are working this weekend before having the first three days of the New Year as a holiday.

 

The snowfall at Beijing Capital International Airport reached three millimeters by 10:00 AM, delaying 35 flights from the airport and 69 others to the city.

 

Despite the inconvenience, most Beijing residents were happy because the snow would clear the city's grey skies, increase humidity and refresh the atmosphere.

 

Beijing's highest temperature is forecast to be minus one degree Celsius on Saturday. This is down by at least six degrees from last week. The air quality is projected at level two or fairly good.

 

The past few weeks of warm winter weather have caused many Beijingers, children and the elderly in particular, to come down with flu. At a primary school in Haidian District nearly every classroom is half empty with recent outbreaks of flu and chickenpox.

 

The municipal administration commission sent 330 workers and 132 vehicles to sweep snow and spray snow-dissolving agents along major urban roads at dawn. The commission said 258 tons of snow-dissolver and 294 tons of other solutions had been sprayed in the city center.

 

The city authorities have requested roadside stores, companies and others to sweep the snow from their doorways within four hours. Overnight snow must be cleared before 10:00 AM, say the bureau's regulations issued in November. Those that fail to do so can be fined between 500 and 1,000 yuan (US$62.5 to $125).

 

 

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2006)