Environment     

Snow, icy rain freeze south, east China

Xinhua, January 5, 2013

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  Citizens make their way on a snow-covered road as a sanitationman clears the snow in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 4, 2013. [Xinhua]

  
  
  

  The provincial meteorological station said the cold weather, which has driven temperatures down by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius, will likely last until Sunday.

  Public heating is not provided in Jiangxi, as its winter is usually mild and short. This year's cold snap, however, has reminded locals of severe weather in 2008 that wreaked havoc and resulted in heavy economic losses.

  East China's Zhejiang Province has also been battered by overnight snow.

  At Xiaoshan International Airport in Hangzhou City, 20 flights were delayed, eight canceled and 32 inbound flights diverted to other airports on Thursday. The delayed fights did not resume until 3:40 a.m. on Friday.

  The airport planned to have 440 take-offs and landings on Friday. However, fewer than 150 take-offs and landings had happened by 2 p.m..

  The airport authority said if the snow continues, the airport will probably close.

  Traffic in central China's Hunan Province has also been disrupted by heavy snow.

  The snowfall has forced the closure of some sections of the Beijing-Hongkong-Macao Expressway in the province, according to the provincial traffic department.

  Additionally, more than 140 flights have been delayed from Huanghua Airport in Changsha, capital of the province.

   

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