The municipal government of Beijing launched emergency traffic measures to deal with the heavy snow that began falling Wednesday afternoon and blanketed the city.

The snow, the first of 2005, followed a sudden gust of southerly wind, which the weather forecast failed to report in time, said Sun Yefu, expert at the Beijing Meteorological Station.

The station released a yellow early-warning signal at 3:00 PM Wednesday reminding the traffic administration of possible slippery road conditions and congestion, Sun said.

According to the station, the snow would stop Wednesday night followed by strong winds on Thursday, and the temperature is forecast to drop steadily to reach -6 to -9 degrees Celsius next week.

Local traffic departments used snow-melting agents on the road and sent out 46 vehicles and 544 workers to clear the snow. Backup systems were also started for bus and rail traffic.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2005)