Northern China on High Alert as Extreme Winds Force Millions Indoors

With gusts reaching up to 150kph, Beijing and surrounding regions brace for the strongest winds in years, prompting shutdowns, travel disruptions, and widespread safety warnings.

Northern China is preparing for a powerful windstorm this weekend, with authorities urging millions of residents to stay indoors as gusts up to 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) are forecast to sweep across Beijing, Tianjin, and the Hebei region.

The severe weather, driven by a cold vortex descending from Mongolia, has triggered Beijing’s first orange alert for gales in ten years — the second-highest level in the country’s four-tier warning system. The storm is expected to last from Friday through Sunday, with wind speeds ranging from level 11 to level 13 on China’s 17-level wind scale, indicating the potential for serious to extreme damage.

“This strong wind is extreme, lasts for a long time, affects a wide area, and is highly disastrous,” warned the Beijing Meteorological Service. Temperatures in the capital are also forecast to plunge by 13 degrees Celsius within a single day when the storm peaks on Saturday.

In response to the dangerous conditions, Chinese authorities have taken widespread precautionary measures. Schools have been closed, outdoor events canceled, and construction and train services suspended. Residents have been advised to avoid all non-essential outdoor activity, especially in mountainous or forested areas where wind conditions may be even more hazardous. Parks and tourist sites have also been shut down to minimize risk.

In a particularly unusual warning, state media advised that people weighing under 50 kilograms (110 pounds) could be at risk of being “easily blown away.” The advisory has since gone viral on social media, sparking a wave of humorous responses from users across the country. One Weibo user joked, “I eat so much all the time, just for this day,” while another remarked, “This wind is so considerate — it starts Friday night and ends Sunday, just in time for work on Monday.”

Amid the flurry of cancellations, even the world’s first humanoid robot half marathon — originally scheduled for the weekend — has been postponed to April 19.

City workers have been reinforcing trees and pruning vulnerable branches in an effort to prevent storm damage, while fire officials have issued a forest fire alert and banned all outdoor burning due to the high winds.

While strong Mongolian winds are not unusual during this season, meteorologists note that this particular system is far more intense than what the region has experienced in recent years. The winds are expected to gradually weaken by Sunday night, offering residents some relief after a weekend of disruption and caution.

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