Heavy snows and biting cold hit parts of Asia on Monday, with unusually harsh winter weather snarling up transport across north China, South Korea and India. Beijing began the working week after a blast of harsh cold and heavy snow blanketed the capital and surrounding cities over the weekend, paralyzing highways and forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights. As the cold snap pressed east, swathes of the Korean peninsula were also hit by heavy snow on Monday, choking up the rush hour commute in Seoul, where the main domestic airport, Gimpo, canceled all domestic flights. Dozens of people were also reported to have died after the cold snap swept over northern India at the weekend. In China, there were no signs that the cold spell would trigger the weekslong disruptions and power cuts that hit some parts of southern China in unusually icy weather in 2008. The icy conditions could push up food prices temporarily by stalling shipments and damaging greenhouses, delay flights, and hold up business in Beijing and other cities for a few days. But Yi Xianrong, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said there would be no significant damage. “This won’t have any impact. It’s too small and local,” he said. “In fact, all the snow could be a positive thing for agriculture in northern China, which is usually so dryð.. The melted snow will help feed crops in spring.” Beijing has become used to milder, largely snow-free winters in recent decades. The snow over the weekend was the capital’s biggest since 1951, with falls of up to 7.8 inches in the city’s far north near the Great Wall, local TV news reported. The wave of cold across north China is expected to continue through the first part of the week. The national meteorological office warned that temperatures in the nation’s far north could fall to around minus 32 degrees Celsius. Beijing is likely to shiver at about minus 10 degrees Celsius in daytime and colder at night, touching decadesold records. The accumulation in Seoul broke a oneday record of 10 inches and is expected to grow, said weather officials, who have been keeping records for about 70 years. The snow snarled ground transport in South Korea but analysts did not expect any major damage to Asia’s fourth largest economy. With major roads in Seoul covered in snow, commuters spilled on to subways of South Korea’s capital, creating major delays with trains and platforms
