First snow fell in Beijing Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning. It was the latest first snow for the city in 60 years. Beijing has had no precipitation for 108 consecutive days this winter. Local meteorologists said from 8:00 Wednesday to 6:00 Thursday, precipitation in Beijing averaged 1 mm. "Now there is snow at last. I love the taste of snow." "The world in pure white! It's the most beautiful landscape in winter." Beijing residents who stayed late in the night and happened to see the first flakes of snow in the city left their postings on microblogs. However, meteorologists said the first snow won't last long and it will end on Thursday noon. In midnight, the city will have a cloudy weather, and Friday will be a sunny day. "As the precipitation is small, it will have limited effect on easing drought," Song Jisong, the municipal meteorological bureau's chief weather forecaster said. Sun said that the capital city's record-long winter drought occurred in the … [Read more...] about Beijing embraces first snow this winter
Beijing weather forecast
Beijing issues alert as smog smothers N China
The Chinese capital on Thursday issued a yellow alert for heavy air pollution over the next three days, with children and the elderly being advised to stay indoors. Beijing, its neighbors Tianjin and Hebei Province, as well as central and western Shandong Province can expect heavy air pollution to linger for a week, according to a joint weather forecast issued by the China Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Environmental Protection. On Thursday morning, PM 2.5 readings in those regions exceeded 115 micrograms per cubic meter, far above the 25 micrograms level considered safe by the World Health Organization. The CMA expects the smog to last for a week as no cold front is in sight to help disperse it. Heavy smog is forecast during the next three days in Beijing, the municipality's office for severe air pollution emergency response said on Thursday, issuing a yellow alert. The yellow alert in Beijing is the first since the municipal government issued one last October. … [Read more...] about Beijing issues alert as smog smothers N China
Why Beijing’s air has turned deadly and how it can be reversed
With toxic haze forecast to return to Beijing on Saturday, many city residents are asking how a deterioration in air quality can be reversed and what city officials can do to avoid the kind of “red alert” that curtailed daily life in the nation’s capital this week. While government statements attribute the smog in large part to car pollution, the explanation isn’t satisfying some people in Beijing. “Overseas countries also have lots of cars, so why don’t they have such smog?” Dong Yucun, a 55-year-old insurance saleswoman, asked on Thursday during an interview in Beijing’s Financial Street district as a cold wind provided temporary relief from the smog. Small coal-burning furnaces scattered through northern China in addition to vehicle emissions are the main culprits feeding the heavy pollution that shrouds Beijing, said Jiang Kejun, a researcher at the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission. … [Read more...] about Why Beijing’s air has turned deadly and how it can be reversed
Beijing authorities use technology in pollution battle
Some Beijing residents use smokestacks to predict smog: Smoke drifting gently upward means stagnant air where smog will accumulate, while smoke blowing away from the mountains indicates fresher winds and clear air ahead. People wearing masks walk past the Turret of the Forbidden City on a heavily polluted day in Beijing Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015. But the city government uses more sophisticated technology for its forecasts, including the one used this week to trigger Beijing's first-ever red alert for smog. The alert brought restrictions on cars and factories, as well as other measures aimed at keeping the smog in check. The system takes into account not only weather patterns that suspend pollutants in the air, but also … [Read more...] about Beijing authorities use technology in pollution battle
Bad weather forecast as new images spur MH370 search
Thunderstorms and gale-force winds threatened to impede a frantic international search Thursday for wreckage from Flight MH370 after satellite images of more than 100 floating objects sparked fresh hopes of a breakthrough. A ground crew directs a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion upon its return to RAAF base Pearce from searching for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean, in Bullsbrook on March 26, 2014 Malaysia said the imagery taken in recent days by a French satellite showed "122 potential objects" in the remote southern Indian Ocean, although nothing has yet been pulled from the treacherous seas despite a multinational recovery operation. Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has cautioned that it was impossible to determine whether the objects were related to the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 which crashed on March 8 with 239 people aboard after mysteriously disappearing. But the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is … [Read more...] about Bad weather forecast as new images spur MH370 search