On March 2000, The Independent announced that:
Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past
23 years later...
The strongest cold blast of this winter has gripped large swathes of China as temperatures in Shanxi, Hebei, and Liaoning have plunged to their lowest levels on record on Sunday.
Second cold wave envelops China's Beijing in snow, ice
Snow, blizzards and plunging temperatures swept northern China in what could be one of its most severe cold snaps in December, spurring authorities in the capital to halt train services, shut schools and tell people to stay home.
Rare snowfall in southern China as deep freeze grips the north
In a week of unexpectedly frigid weather, temperatures have fallen to lows below zero in northern areas, disrupting road, rail and air transport and even causing a brake failure in a commuter train in the capital Beijing.
"Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said (Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia - n.a.)
