Beijing's 22 million residents were advised to remain indoors on Saturday as powerful winds swept across northern China, causing significant disruptions. The winds, which reached speeds of 101 miles per hour in Beijing, toppled trees, disrupted travel and sports, and triggered dust storms throughout the region.
The severe weather was attributed to a polar vortex originating in Mongolia, which also led to a sharp drop in temperatures, according to state media reports. Wind and rain began affecting the area on Friday, and by Saturday afternoon, over 800 trees had been uprooted, with nearly 7,000 residents evacuated in Beijing.
Dust storms were reported across northern China, including in Beijing, as the state broadcaster noted. A postgraduate student described the winds as “wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves,” recounting how a strong gust dislodged a glass door at her school.
City authorities in Beijing recommended that residents avoid nonessential travel and postponed weekend soccer matches. Transportation officials suspended train and bus services on both Friday and Saturday, leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights nationwide.
Popular tourist attractions, including the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, were closed, and a marathon scheduled for Sunday was postponed until the following week. Following a series of warm days, temperatures in Beijing were expected to drop to 57 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday.
Strong winds were also forecast for nearby Shanxi and Hebei provinces, as well as China's Inner Mongolia region. Meteorologists in South Korea and Japan issued strong wind warnings for their western coasts, linking the conditions to the same weather system affecting China.