Brrrrr: Beijing Braces for Coldest Winter Since 2012

Just in case you have absolutely no feelings and you didn't notice: it's friggin' cold outside. And things are only looking to get worse, as we're predicted to be heading into the coldest winter that China has seen since 2012. 

To give you an idea of what that might mean, the winter of 2012-2013 presented the lowest national average temperatures in 28 years, closing highways, canceling flights, stranding tourists, and knocking out power in provinces throughout the country. We can't say we're looking forward to temperatures dipping even lower than that this winter.

The predicted low temperatures this year come as a result of a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean called La Niña, ECNS reports meteorologists as saying.

"Affected by a growing La Niña, the country's average temperature this winter is forecast to be 0.5 degree [Celsius] lower than average," Zheng Fei told ECNS, a researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China's northeastern and northwestern regions will be affected the most, as a result. Fortunately though, this year's La Niña is not expected to be as strong as that of 2008, but it will still be chilly. 

Another factor predicted to add to this cold is the stronger-than-normal air mass from the Arctic, which we definitely felt yesterday and today.

Fortunately, we get another few days of decent weather with Saturday's highest temperature predicted at a whopping 17 degrees Celcius, so make sure you get outside and make the most of it.

More stories by this author here.

Email: margauxschreurs@truerun.com
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Images: Margaux Schreurs, weather.com