Beijing airport cancels 111 flights due to rainstorms

Strong winds and heavy rainfall hit Beijing Sunday morning, causing over 100 flights to be canceled and delays for dozens of trains.

The capital's meteorological bureau on Saturday afternoon issued a yellow alert for lightning expected in the city from 2 am Sunday until 2 pm in the afternoon. It also warned that some areas might face gusts of wind gusts and hail.

Capital International Airport by 12 pm Sunday had canceled 111 out of 436 scheduled flights, while a China Southern Airlines flight scheduled to arrive in Beijing at noon from Guangzhou in Guangdong province found cracks on its windshield due to hail upon landing.

The flight arrived safely with no injuries onboard, said China Southern Airlines.

Railway departments said Sunday afternoon that they had adopted measures limiting the speeds of some intercity trains between Beijing and Tianjin, while also canceling a number of services due to strong winds and significant rainfall.

The heavy rainfall and thunderstorms will last until 8 pm Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center, which issued a blue alert for severe weather on Saturday.

Southwest Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces are also expected to experience the weather in the coming days, along with some provinces in Northeastern China.

China has a four-tier color coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.