A powerful round of severe convective weather swept across Yulin City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Sunday afternoon, bringing hail, thunderstorm gales, and torrential rain to multiple districts.
In Mizhi County, hailstones pelted the ground in dense bursts, pounding parked vehicles along the streets with loud thuds. Meanwhile, in Suide County, heavy rainfall left several streets severely flooded, with some vehicles swept away by the rushing water.
Monitoring data showed that the storm system produced maximum wind gusts of up to Force 12 on the Beaufort scale, with peak hourly rainfall intensity reaching 55.1 millimeters. Multiple counties and districts reported road flooding and fallen trees, disrupting traffic and travel.
The local meteorological department has issued a warning that scattered thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail may continue to affect parts of Yulin on Monday, urging residents to remain vigilant and take precautions.
Hailstorm hits NW China's Yulin, flooding roads
Hailstorm hits NW China's Yulin, flooding roads
A Chinese representative to UN said Monday that the most direct and effective way of protecting children is to end conflict and violence, calling for greater efforts to promote peace.
"The most direct and effective way of protecting children is to end conflict and violence. China urges all parties to conflicts to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, cease hostilities, and strictly observe their obligations under international law and international humanitarian law, so as to avoid attacks on children and civilian facilities such as schools," Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a UN security meeting commemorating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Children and Armed Conflict Mandate.
Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, briefed the Council, stating that in 2025, the UN verified 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children. This was the highest number of children affected in any single year since the mandate was established.
Fu said in his address that it is necessary to halt hostilities and promote peace, to safeguard children's well-being, improve mechanisms, strengthen accountability, empower development to promote children's welfare and work together to increase support for the Global South.
Noting that children in the occupied Palestinian territory, Haiti, and elsewhere are on the front lines of conflict and violence and have long suffered grave violations and threats, Fu said China supports the Security Council in resorting to necessary tools to ensure strict accountability for wanton abuses of children.
Development is the fundamental solution to the root causes of conflict, said Fu. UN members need to support the governments of the countries concerned in guaranteeing basic needs such as food, education, health care, and employment, and in improving the environment for children's growth and development, so that children can break free from the shadow of war and the cycle of violence, he said.
At the same time, it is important to bridge the digital divide and ensure that its benefits reach more countries in the Global South, Fu said.
China calls for end to conflicts as best way to protect children
