Yellow River Segment Freezes up in North China

As of Monday morning, a 158-kilometer segment of the Yellow River is seeing ice blockage in north China&Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Yellow River entered this year&freeze-up period on Nov. 23, which was nine days earlier than the average date in recent years due to severe cold air. Over 90 percent of the river segment in Togtoh County is covered by ice. This segment is at a river bend, where ice chunks easily build up and cause ice dams, which may raise the water level and result in ice flooding. However, the ice’s floating density decreases in the lower reaches. During the freeze-up period, the ice’s floating density changes with the temperature, which has brought stress to flood prevention efforts.