Freezing rain and haze in Beijing caused more than 100 cars to rear-end each other (picture)

Beijing's freezing rain and smog caused more than 100 cars to rear-end (picture) Today (31st) the weather in Beijing became a hodgepodge, the smog has not cleared, rain and snow...

The weather in Beijing today (31st) turned into a mixed bag. The smog has not dispersed, rain and snow have started again, and are mixed with ice particles and freezing rain, making the road surface slippery and visibility is very poor, which has a great impact on traffic. There are currently dozens of car accidents on the Beijing-Chengdu Expressway, and a series of car accidents involving about 50 vehicles in both directions on the Airport Expressway.

At 08:00 this morning, freezing rain occurred in some areas such as Chaoyang and Fengtai in Beijing, while other areas were dominated by snow or sleet. According to statistics from the Beijing Meteorological Observatory, from 20:00 on the 30th to 8:00 on the 31st, precipitation in Beijing was relatively uniform, with an average of 0.1 mm in the city, and a maximum of 0.5 mm in Phoenix Ridge, Haidian District.

>Beijing’s complicated weather has had a very negative impact on traffic. According to Weibo netizens, due to the lingering smog in Beijing, poor visibility, and the slippery road surface, vehicles are prone to skidding. Dozens of car accidents have occurred on the Jingcheng Expressway, and about 50 vehicles have been involved in a series of car accidents in both directions on the Airport Expressway.

There is not much precipitation, and there is no obvious snow on the road. Why is the road so slippery? According to experts from the Beijing Professional Meteorological Observatory, due to the obvious temperature inversion layer in the lower levels, the haze formed prevents the temperature from falling at night, resulting in different precipitation phases across Beijing this morning. A mixture of sleet, snow, ice particles and freezing rain appeared. Although there was no obvious snow on the road, the surface temperature was below zero, and ice formed on the ground, making the road very slippery.

In this regard, the Beijing Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow warning signal for road icing at 08:00 today: Precipitation has already occurred in most areas, and the surface temperature is below 0°C. Ice will appear on the roads, so please pay attention to precautions.

According to the forecast from the Beijing Meteorological Observatory, there will be light snow and haze in the city during the day today. The weather has a great impact on traffic. We remind everyone to drive slowly and keep a safe distance between cars. The elderly and children should try to avoid going out as much as possible and take anti-skid measures when going out.

>> Popular science link:

Freezing rain is composed of supercooled water droplets that freeze immediately upon collision with objects with a temperature below 0°C. It is a disastrous weather seen in early winter or late winter and early spring.

Raindrops below 0℃ can remain supercooled in air with a temperature slightly below 0℃. Their appearance is the same as ordinary raindrops. When it falls on an object with a temperature below 0℃, it immediately freezes into a smooth and transparent layer of ice, called raindrops.

Severe rainstorms can break trees and telephone poles, interrupt communications and power supply, hinder highway and railway transportation, and threaten the safety of aircraft flights.