Bitter winter in China – Temps down to minus 45C

More than 1,100 people and  280 snowplows work to clear roads in Shanxi.
23 Jan 12 – Snow and freezing rain continued in parts of China today, disrupting travel as the first day of the world’s biggest annual human migration – Lunar New Year – began.

Snow will fall in areas south of the Yangtze River in provinces including Shaanxi, Gansu, and Henan, the China Meteorological Administration reported. Freezing rain continued in southern Guizhou province, disrupting travel in Shaanxi and Hubei as well as Chongqing Municipality.

The Ministry of Railways added 289 more trains to accommodate passengers forced by to seek alternatives to road travel.

Temperatures will fall in most of the country through tomorrow, plummeting to minus 30 C (-22 F) in northeastern China.

In Shanxi, west of Beijing, a bus collision killed seven after snow blanketed most of the province and forced closure of a dozen highways.

In Xinjiang, 448 people and 80 vehicles were stranded in a sudden blizzard before being rescued early yesterday, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, temperatures in the city of Genhe, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China, reached minus 45 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

Streets were mostly empty as residents stayed indoors to avoid the cold.

See entire articles:
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-22/china-snow-from-xinjiang-to-coast-snarls-world-s-biggest-human-migration?category=%2F

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=city_hit_by_extreme_45_degr_250112

Thanks to Alex Tanase for these links.