BEIJING (AFP) — Strong winds wreaked havoc in Beijing and parts of northern China on Saturday, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled, attractions to close and rail lines to be suspended, state media said.

The powerful winds stemmed mainly from a cold vortex system formed over Mongolia that was moving east and south, sweeping across northern China from Friday through the weekend, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said.

“The strongest winds are expected during the daytime of 12 April, with wind speeds at some observation stations approaching or even surpassing historical records for the same period since 1951,” the CMA said in a statement.

Beijing earlier issued its first orange alert — the second-highest tier — for strong winds in a decade for this weekend.

As of Saturday morning, 413 flights at Beijing’s Capital International Airport had been canceled, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Train services including the airport’s express subway line and some high-speed rail lines have also been suspended, CCTV added.

Tourist attractions including the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Zoo and the Universal Studios theme park were also temporarily closed Saturday.

Almost 300 trees in the Chinese capital had toppled and 19 vehicles had been damaged, CCTV said, adding that no injuries due to the strong winds had been reported in Beijing yet.

Deadly storms

Meanwhile, at least 69 people were killed this week in unusually intense thunderstorms across eastern India’s Bihar state and in neighboring Nepal, officials said Saturday.

While flash floods and lightning kill thousands of people each year, scientists warn that rising global temperatures are unleashing a cascade of extreme weather events.

Bihar disaster authorities said Saturday that at least 61 people had died in strong thunder and lightning storms on Thursday and Friday.

Eight more people were killed in neighboring Nepal, disaster officials told Agence France-Presse, blaming “lightning strikes” on Wednesday and Thursday.

Heavy rain is forecast to hit Bihar again on Saturday, according to the local India Meteorological Department office.

Last year, experts warned that climate change was fuelling an alarming increase in deadly lightning strikes in India, killing nearly 1,900 people a year in the world’s most populous country.

Lightning caused 101,309 deaths between 1967 and 2020, with a sharp increase between 2010 and 2020, a team of researchers led by Fakir Mohan University in the eastern state of Odisha said.