While mysterious pneumonia spreads in China, multiple areas are experiencing extreme winter weather conditions such as thundersnow.
Beginning in November, many parts of mainland China have witnessed consecutive instances of thundersnow—severe snowfall coupled with echoing thunder.
The phenomenon has been especially widely observed in northern China, from Yangcheng in the landlocked Shanxi Province to Luoyang and Zhengzhou in Henan and Dezhou and Jinan in the east coast Shandong Province.
Meanwhile, heavy hail fell in Henan Province, and rare purple lightning and thunder took place in Zhengzhou, where a large swarm of crows wildly soared through the heavy snowfall, a phenomenon deemed even more exceptional by Chinese netizens.
Some netizens told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that local folklore states thundersnow serves as a warning of coming significant calamities.
Online discussions also list the phenomenon as a bad omen, with some saying there will be “more graves next year,” implying increased deaths.
Others said, “Thunder hits the snow, people eat iron,” meaning poor harvest and scarce food stock in the forthcoming year; and others, “Winter thunder, graves accumulate, nine out of 10 cattle sheds are empty,” suggesting ominous signs for both humans and cattle freezing to death.
Mr. Mu, a Henan resident, told The Epoch Times there’s an uneasy atmosphere on Chinese social platforms when discussing the phenomenon, and many were hoping such bad tidings are only for the “bad guys.”
He said the spread of the mysterious pneumonia has also been ongoing. After lockdown measures were lifted last year, he traveled by train to the northeast and witnessed extensive new graveyards along the journey.
In particular, the rampant outbreaks in Beijing “overwhelmed the funeral homes that people couldn’t secure a service, even if they were willing to pay extra.”
Thundersnow in 2020
A Chinese blogger whose IP is located in Shaanxi posted, “It’s quite peculiar; in early 2020, there were occurrences of thundersnow in various places, and on the eve of the Chinese New Year, Shaoshan (Mao Zedong’s hometown) experienced rolling winter thunder. It seemed odd at the time. Little did we anticipate that this would precede the onset of the century’s pandemic.”Meanwhile, Mr. Wang, a villager from Zhuzhou in Hunan, said there had been instances where a couple of villagers died right after only stumbling on the ground.
Mr. Peng, a resident of Hengyang in Hunan, said among a total of 10 workers in the office, three are on sick leave due to a fever, and two have already passed away. “One died in August, and the other in his 30s died in October right after he woke up in the morning,” he said.
Mr. Liu, a white-collar worker from Henan, said that some of his colleagues have been seriously ill during this wave of illness.
“There is an increased number of infections among children. The general belief is that it is a resurgence of COVID-19,” said Mr. Liu.
A Yunnan-based netizen, “FullSugarMilkTeaBerryWorries,” posted on Dec. 22: “(The pandemic) has already brought me to an unbearable state.”
Blogger “QingLuoXuanMeMe” wrote: “This winter is quite challenging. The child is repeatedly experiencing fever and cough. Before our child had fully recovered, I also fell victim to it.
“A new daily routine for these days: Check the temperature, track the number of breaths, and keep a record of mental well-being,” the blogger wrote. “The memos are all about the child’s illness, medical online searching, and hospital visits.”
