Parts of China experience wide scope of cold waves, heavy snows

The National Meteorological Center lifted a warning for cold waves and heavy snows on Wednesday, with temperatures expected to pick up in most parts of central and eastern China but forecast a lingering strong snowfall and sharp temperature drop in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang in the north and northeast in the following two days.

A major cold wave has swept a large swathe of north China and parts of the country's eastern region since Sunday, with many cities reporting snow or rain, and temperature drops. It is the first major cold wave to many of these regions. As of 08:00 Wednesday morning, a total of 90 highway sections in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning in the northeast, Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia in the north, Gansu in the northwest, Guizhou and Sichuan in the southwest, and Shandong in the east were closed due to snowfall and icy roads.

A snowstorm started to hit Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province on Monday, leaving a maximum accumulated snow depth of 39 centimeters, and forcing the suspension of all railways, highways, construction projects, sports venues and schools across the city from Tuesday.

From 20:00 Monday to 20:00 Tuesday, the precipitation at a meteorological station was 54.6 mm, far exceeding the 24-hour historical record of 37.0 mm from November 11 to 12, 2012.

A heavy snow also blanketed Tongliao City of Inner Mongolia from Sunday to Tuesday, bringing the largest snowfall of more than 10 mm and a temperatures drop by eight to ten degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, northern parts of Shanxi Province ushered in a snow from Tuesday afternoon. In order to ensure the safety of high-speed traffic, some highway sections were temporarily closed.

The Chinese capital city of Beijing also welcomed its first snow this winter on Tuesday night with snowflakes drifting in the air and covering the ground in white soon.

The city kept its blue alert for cold waves in place on Wednesday which it issued on Sunday.

China has a three-tier, color-coded weather warning system for cold waves, with orange representing the most severe weather, followed by yellow and blue.

Parts of China experience wide scope of cold waves, heavy snows

China's foreign exchange reserves totaled 3.4278 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of February 2026, marking an increase of 28.7 billion dollars, or 0.85 percent, from the end of January, according to official data released on Saturday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange noted that the U.S. dollar index increased in February, while prices of major global financial assets saw mixed movements, influenced by macroeconomic data, monetary policies, and market expectations in major economies.

The combined effects of exchange rate conversion and changes in asset prices contributed to the increase in China's foreign exchange reserves during the month, the administration said.

China's economy registered steady and improving performance, with new and higher-quality development momentum, the administration noted. The supporting conditions and underlying trend for the long-term sound development of the Chinese economy remain unchanged, providing solid support in the quest to keep the scale of foreign exchange reserves basically stable, it added.

"At the end of February, China's foreign exchange reserves exceeded 3.4 trillion dollars for the first time in nearly ten years, marking the seventh consecutive month of month-on-month growth. We believe the increase in forex reserves, on one hand, confirms that China's long-term positive macroeconomic trend has laid a solid foundation for the overall balance of payments; on the other hand, it also demonstrates that the risk-hedging capabilities of China's reserve assets' are continuously enhancing amid rising volatility in global financial asset prices," said Li Liuyang, chief forex analyst of China International Capital Corporation's research department.

China's foreign exchange reserves rise in February