Since the 19th, freezing rain and cooling weather has occurred in parts of Gansu and Shaanxi, disrupting traffic. Freezing rain freezes immediately upon contact with objects whose temperature is below 0°C, and the speed at which it condenses into ice is extremely fast. What impacts does freezing rain have on transportation such as highways, railways, and civil aviation?

Freezing rain can cause road icing and glare, affecting driving

Gao Jingjing, Senior Engineer at the Public Meteorological Service Center of the China Meteorological Administration: On highways, freezing rain can easily cause road icing, leading to vehicle sideslips and fishtailing. In addition, icy road surfaces can produce glare under strong light, reducing drivers' vision, which also becomes a potential risk to safe driving.

Freezing rain can cause trains to slow down or even suspend service

On railways, since most trains currently draw their main power from electricity, each train has an upward-extending device called a pantograph. The pantograph connects with the overhead contact line carrying high-voltage electricity to transmit power to the train. When freezing rain falls on the contact line, it quickly wraps around it and forms an ice layer, causing poor current collection by the locomotive's pantograph; the current then fails to meet the requirements for operation, and trains must slow down or even suspend service. At the same time, freezing rain weather also causes ice to form on the tracks, so trains need more time and a longer distance when accelerating and braking, slowing their travel speed.

Freezing rain can cause airport runway icing, affecting flight takeoff and landing

In aviation, freezing rain can cause airport runways to ice over, lengthening the distance aircraft roll during takeoff and landing, or even directly preventing aircraft from taking off and landing, affecting the safety and efficiency of flight operations.

The public is advised to pay close attention to weather forecasts issued by meteorological departments in the near term, try to avoid freezing rain areas when traveling, and also keep abreast of timely updates on railway and aviation information to plan travel arrangements well.