January 10, 2013

About 180,000 cattle have died in Northern China due to the coldest winter experienced in decades while also threatening electric power supplies in the south, where the government is not used to dealing with such freezing temperatures.

The National Meteorological Centre reiterated that southern China will be under heavier than normal snow, rain and freezing temperatures for the next few days, according to a news agency.

In China, freezing weather has sent temperatures diving to a national average of 25 degrees Fahrenheit since November 20, the lowest average temperature in 28 years, says the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

The CMA said ice had covered 10,500 square miles of the sea surface, the most expansive since 2008 when authorities began to collect ice data, and it said the ice coverage will likely continue to grow.

Blizzards were forecast for western regions along the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, as well as the northern part of southern China.

China Southern Power Grid was working to melt ice on power lines to prevent electricity outages, Wang Xiaochun, the company's publicity manager, said.

In eastern Shandong province, more than 1,000 ships are stuck because of thick sea ice on Laizhou Bay. The government fretted over damage to late-season crops such as winter wheat. Prices for vegetable have jumped 55% in the past 10 weeks, a newspaper reported.

The super-low temperatures are rare but will continue for some time, said Zhang Lansheng, 85, one of China's earliest environment and climate experts. Compared with early 2008, when south China suffered a snow and ice "disaster" that caused widespread power outages and affected more than 100 million people, China now boasts more experience and disaster readiness, he said.

"But we need to increase the accuracy of weather forecasts, and different levels of government should improve emergency facilities and organise people to boost their ability to cope with disasters."