Beijing on high alert for strong winds

As Beijing issued its first orange wind warning in nearly a decade, frontline workers and municipal departments are in a race against time to fortify the metropolis.

Beijing issued an orange alert for strong winds, the second-highest in the four-tier warning system, on Thursday morning. A sharp temperature drop is also expected to last through Sunday.

The rare weather, with extremely strong winds in mountainous regions of the capital, has triggered a massive emergency response with detailed planning and unwavering dedication.

Wang Zhibin, a Party official from Jiuyuan village, Wangping township in western Beijing's Mentougou district where more than 90 percent of the area is mountainous, did not go back home on Thursday night as he was on duty in case of any emergencies.

Wang said that he and his colleagues held meetings immediately on Thursday afternoon to arrange related work, so as to ensure villagers could be aware of the potential risks and get prepared.

"We visited villagers door to door, reminding them to close windows, remove vehicles to safe places and avoid going out unnecessarily," he said. "We have staff on duty 24 hours a day to offer help when needed, and have sent teams to safeguard the forests to prevent fire accidents there."

In Haidian district, Liu Lifeng, an official from Malianwa subdistrict, has been busy trimming and reinforcing nearly 500 high-risk poplar trees since Wednesday.

These trees, known for their shallow roots, are susceptible to toppling during storms. Historical data reveals that between 2022 and 2024, 12 trees collapsed and 399 branches snapped in the area.

"This storm is anticipated to be more severe," Liu said while maneuvering a crane to secure branches five meters above the ground. "We should get prepared in advance."

More than 4,800 hazardous trees across the city have been trimmed or reinforced by an army of 4,000 emergency forestry workers, while 40,000 frontline forest rangers have also been standing vigilant in the mountainous terrain.

According to meteorological authorities, the strongest wind is expected to hit on Saturday, with temperatures dropping to 7 C.

At 4 pm on Friday, before the rush hour, subways in the city were more crowded than usual because many employers had asked employees to leave work early.

At the same time, a number of residents were buying food, fruit and vegetables in supermarkets in preparation for the windy weekend. Chen Meimei, in her 30s, was one of them. To her surprise, she found not much left on the shop's shelves as many shoppers chose to stock up on food in case of any unexpected inconvenience.

Given that the strong wind is anticipated to lead to potential flight cancellations or delays, airports in the capital have also released announcements to passengers, encouraging them to pay close attention to the latest information.

Additionally, Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said on Friday evening that starting from Saturday morning, all 15 sections of the elevated ground-level routes throughout the city would be suspended, involving 106 stations with a total route length of 216 kilometers. Underground segments and other unaffected routes would continue to operate as usual.

Considering the complex terrain in mountainous areas, out of the 396 routes traversing mountainous regions, 221 will be temporarily halted, with 61 operating on a limited-section basis, according to the commission.

During a visit to Beijing's emergency command center on Friday afternoon, Mayor Yin Yong urged all departments citywide to make every effort to ensure the safety of residents' lives and properties, while also endeavoring to maintain the smooth and orderly operation of the capital.

Chen Meiling contributed to this story.