Northern China Grounds Hundreds of Flights as Fierce Winds Batter Region

 Northern China faced chaos on April 11, 2025, as gale-force winds reaching 90 km/h swept through Beijing, Tianjin, and Inner Mongolia, forcing the cancellation of over 600 flights.

The China Meteorological Administration issued a yellow alert, warning of dust storms and visibility below 500 meters, grounding 70% of departures at Beijing Capital Airport, 300 flights alone—while Tianjin’s Binhe Airport halted all operations. Passengers, stranded in thousands, shared frustrated posts on Weibo, with #ChinaWinds hitting 1 million views as videos showed sand blanketing streets and toppling billboards.

The winds, driven by a Siberian cold front, disrupted Spring Festival travel plans for 10 million commuters, with delays extending to high-speed trains like the Beijing-Shanghai line, which slowed to 200 km/h for safety.

Authorities reported minor injuries from flying debris and power outages affecting 50,000 homes in Hohhot. Beijing’s air quality index hit 300, prompting mask advisories for 20 million residents. The Civil Aviation Administration rerouted 150 flights to Shanghai, but backlog fears loom, with normalcy expected by April 14.

China’s aviation sector, handling 1.5 billion passengers annually, faces scrutiny after 2024’s typhoon disruptions exposed weak contingency plans. Airlines offered refunds, but complaints of poor communication surged, echoing global turbulence woes—U.S. carriers canceled 2,000 flights in March over storms. Environmentalists linked the winds to desertification, with 27% of Inner Mongolia degraded, per a 2024 study, urging reforestation. For now, northerners brace for more gusts, their daily lives upended by nature’s fury.