Without doubt the fright of their lives. More than a dozen Chinese workers suffered from the violent winds that hit the Beijing region on Thursday, May 30, finding themselves suspended above the void while they were responsible for cleaning the windows of the CCTV Tower , the China Central Television tower located in the Chinese capital.
In several videos shared on social networks, we see window cleaners hanging from their rope from the top of this 234 m high tower. Swirling from right to left due to gusts of wind, these washers hanging more than a hundred meters above the ground even seemed very close to colliding, while holding on to their rope attached to the skyscraper of 51 floors.
Stephen McDonell, the BBC’s China correspondent, says that this “sudden storm” even caused several trees to fall in the Chinese capital. Information confirmed by numerous videos which have been shared on social networks. Other images also show people losing their balance and falling to the ground in the street due to these exceptionally strong winds.
In recent months, Beijing has often been confronted with increasingly extreme weather phenomena. In June 2023, the Chinese capital was hit by a historic heatwave with record temperatures reaching 40°C. A few weeks later, in August, the metropolis was hit by deadly floods after experiencing its heaviest deluge in 140 years.
In general, China is increasingly exposed to this type of extreme weather event. Last April, the south of the country was hit by what authorities called the “floods of the century” due to torrential rains which left several people dead.
