BEIJING, Feb 7: Snow today blanketed the Chinese capital, ending an extended dry weather spell, the second such instance in over 60 years.
People soaked in snow as it has been a long time in coming. The snowfall brought a relief as Beijing witnessed a dry spell since October 22 last year.
The snowfall is set to continue tonight, the municipal meteorological observatory said.
The local traffic management bureau said more policemen have been dispatched onto roads to maintain order, as the snowfall slowed traffic and triggered accidents.
Statistics from the Beijing environmental monitoring centre show the snowfall cleaned the air, dramatically reducing PM2.5 readings.
Chen Dagang, a senior engineer with the Beijing Climate Centre, said lack of water vapour and higher-than-usual temperatures were behind the late arrival of Beijing’s first winter snow this year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Since records began in 1951, the most delayed first winter snowfall in Beijing occurred only three years ago in the winter of 2010-11.
The city’s longest winter drought, 114 days, came in the winter of 1970-71. (AGENCIES)
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