Snowstorms cause widespread road closures and flight delays in China

Snowfall led to road closures, public transport cancellations and flight delays in the Chinese capital Beijing and other parts of the country on Monday.
Chinese state television reported that 184 bus routes in Beijing were cancelled during morning rush hour due to the weather. On the underground lines, the city deployed more trains and additional technical staff to transport people switching from road to rail.
According to the authorities, rush hour began much earlier than usual on Monday.
Authorities also closed sections of road in the province of Hebei surrounding Beijing and in the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin as well as in Inner Mongolia due to the driving snow.
Express trains across the country had to reduce speed due to the weather conditions. In the central Chinese province of Henan, a snowstorm briefly paralysed the main airport of Zhengzhou, a city with a population of 10 million.
Most primary and secondary schools in the city cancelled classes. There were initially no reports of major accidents or injuries.
Winter is one of the driest seasons in Beijing, which is why it does not often snow. The weather authorities forecast further snowfall in central and eastern China this week.