Cold wave delays Yellow River thawing

The recent cold wave sweeping across large parts of China has slowed down the thawing of the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River.

Local water departments are continuing to enhance ice-flood control to ensure safety during the river's thawing period. Ice-jam floods are a common occurrence on the Yellow River, China's second-longest waterway, in early winter and spring when changing temperatures cause freezes and thaws. The flows jamming the channel can damage or flood the river banks.

As of January 7, the downstream section of the Yellow River in east China's Shandong Province had completely thawed, 38 days earlier than the recent average. Similarly, by February 11, the segment of the Yellow River in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region had also fully thawed, eight days earlier than usual.

The central and eastern regions of China experienced strong rainfalls and snowfalls between February 20 and 21 due to the impact of the recent cold wave. This could potentially cause certain sections of the Yellow River to freeze again.

"Affected by the cold wave, temperatures in the Yellow River basin are expected to remain relatively low from February 20 to 22, which will lead to a slowdown of the thawing process along the river's upper and middle reaches. Currently, there are still 687.5 kilometers of frozen sections in the Yellow River, mostly in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the middle reaches region. But overall, the melting of the ice on the river is going smoothly," said Zhang Bingduo, director of the flood control division at the Department of Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention of the Ministry of Water Resources.

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