Chinese coastal areas issue red alert for Typhoon Trami

Coastal areas in south China's Hainan Province on Saturday afternoon issued a red alert, the highest alert level, for typhoon Trami.

Trami is expected to circle over the waters from the southern coast of Hainan Island to the Xisha Islands on Sunday night, before moving eastward, gradually losing its intensity, according to the Hainan Meteorological Service.

From Saturday to Tuesday, Trami will bring strong winds and heavy rains to the sea areas near Hainan.

"Based on the current monitoring, Trami is expected to move westward at a speed of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour, gradually increasing intensity. As it approaches Hainan Island and the Xisha Islands, its strongest intensity may reach typhoon level. Starting Sunday, it will circle over the sea areas from the southern coast of Hainan Island to the Xisha Islands, and then its intensity will begin to weaken," said Wu Zhiyan, chief forecaster from the Hainan Meteorological Service.

The service maintained its Level-IV warning for typhoon on Saturday morning. Due to Trami, some sea areas around Hainan are expected to experience strong winds, and the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands will face intense winds and rainfall from Saturday to Tuesday.

On Saturday afternoon, the Sansha Municipal Meteorological Bureau upgraded the alert for the typhoon from orange to red in parts of Xisha Islands. A red warning for heavy rain was issued in the Yongle Islands of Xisha.

The Hainan Meteorological Service forecasts that Typhoon Trami will bring persistent strong winds and heavy rains to the Xisha and Zhongsha Islands, as well as sustained strong winds in the central South China Sea.

Trami also caused flooding in Yongxing Island on Saturday morning, drenching the streets.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Chinese coastal areas issue red alert for Typhoon Trami

China's civil aviation sector reported record-high air traffic in the third quarter of this year (Q3), data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed Friday.

In Q3, the total transport turnover, passenger trips, as well as cargo and mail transport volume in the country's civil aviation sector rose 19.8 percent, 12.3 percent and 19.4 percent year on year, respectively.

Meanwhile, passenger trips stoo 200 million during the same period. Of the total, domestic routes registered 180 million passenger trips, up 8.3 percent year on year, while international routes recorded more than 18.2 million trips, surging 78 percent year on year, the data showed.

Since July, international passenger trips on Chinese airlines have recovered to over 90 percent of the same period in 2019 for three consecutive months.

According to the CAAC, the civil aviation market's freight volume exceeded 2.3 million tonnes during the period, with domestic and international freight transport increasing by 12.9 percent and 30.1 percent year on year, respectively.

"Civil aviation transport has shown strong momentum in the first three quarters of this year, which has consolidated the development of China's export-oriented economy and international trade," said Zhong Shan, chief economist at the Institute of Air Transport, China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology.

China posts record-high air traffic in Q3