Blue · Level IV
General. The lowest of the four rungs — a hazard is possible but at its least severe. Worth noting, rarely a reason to change plans.
When the weather closes the trip
China's weather warning colours: what blue, yellow, orange and red shut down
In short
I keep seeing a coloured weather alert in China — what does it mean?
China uses one national warning-signal ladder: blue, yellow, orange and red stand for Level IV (general), Level III (relatively severe), Level II (severe) and Level I (especially severe). Blue is the lowest, red the highest, and the same scheme covers typhoon, rainstorm, high temperature, cold wave and more. For a typhoon signal, the official defence guide stops open-air activity from blue, and suspends classes and business (except special industries) from orange up — so orange and red are when a visitor's day gets closed down.
See all recovery guidesApplies to
Any foreign visitor who sees a colour flashed on a weather app, a station or scenic-area board, or the news while travelling in China — coastal or inland, any season.
Check before you rely on it
No opened official source says a warning colour automatically suspends trains or flights; that is the operator's call on the day. High-temperature and cold-wave alerts are rungs of this same ladder, so they are covered here rather than on a separate page. Other hazards each have their own defence guide this page does not reproduce in full.
Information checked:
A colour on a screen is the one part of a Chinese weather warning a visitor can read without the Chinese text. This guide maps the four colours to what they mean and, using the typhoon signal as the worked example, to what actually closes at each rung.
The one ladder
Blue, yellow, orange, red — lowest to highest
Four levels, ranked by how severe the hazard is. The same colours mean the same thing whatever the hazard.
Yellow · Level III
Relatively severe. Conditions are stepping up. Check the forecast and the operator of anything outdoor or coastal you have booked.
Orange · Level II
Severe. This is where real closures begin — for a typhoon signal, classes and business (bar special industries) are officially told to suspend from orange upward.
Red · Level I
Especially severe — the top rung. Expect the widest closures and assume outdoor and coastal plans are off. Treat travel that day as disrupted.
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局) Order No. 16, published on www.cma.gov.cn — 气象灾害预警信号发布与传播管理办法 (Measures for the Issuance and Dissemination of Meteorological Disaster Warning Signals), Articles 2–3 (source dated 2007-06-12 (issued as CMA Order No. 16; effective on issuance); read July 25, 2026)
One scheme, every hazard
The colours cover all of these
High temperature and cold wave are rungs of the same ladder — there is only one colour system to learn.
TyphoonRainstormSnowstormCold waveGaleSandstormHigh temperatureDroughtLightningHailFrostHeavy fogHazeRoad icing
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局) Order No. 16, published on www.cma.gov.cn — 气象灾害预警信号发布与传播管理办法 (Measures for the Issuance and Dissemination of Meteorological Disaster Warning Signals), Articles 2–3 (source dated 2007-06-12 (issued as CMA Order No. 16; effective on issuance); read July 25, 2026)
Worked example
A typhoon signal, colour by colour
As the wind forecast climbs from Force 6 to Force 12, the colour climbs and the closures widen. This is the CMA typhoon-signal standard.
Typhoon blue
Within 24h, average wind reaching Force 6+, or gusts Force 8+, and likely to persist.
Defence guide: stop open-air group activities and dangerous outdoor work at height. Coastal and water activity is the first thing to go.
Typhoon yellow
Within 24h, wind reaching Force 8+, or gusts Force 10+.
Defence guide: stop large indoor and outdoor gatherings and dangerous outdoor work at height.
Typhoon orange
Within 12h, wind reaching Force 10+, or gusts Force 12+.
Defence guide item 2: stop large indoor and outdoor gatherings, suspend classes, suspend business (except special industries); vessels return to port or take shelter.
Typhoon red
Within 6h, wind reaching Force 12+, or gusts Force 14+.
Defence guide item 2: stop gatherings, suspend classes, suspend business (except special industries); sheltering vessels arrange for crews to stay put or move to safety.
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局), www.cma.gov.cn — 台风预警信号 (Typhoon warning signals) — colour standards and defence guides (read July 25, 2026)
The published facts
What the official warning-signal rules actually say
Each fact links the official source and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-07-25.
Four colours, one national ladder
China's meteorological warning signals are divided into four levels by how severe, urgent and fast-developing the hazard is — Level IV (general), Level III (relatively severe), Level II (severe) and Level I (especially severe) — shown in order by blue, yellow, orange and red, and marked in both Chinese and English. So blue is the lowest rung and red the highest.
Article 3
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局) Order No. 16, published on www.cma.gov.cn — 气象灾害预警信号发布与传播管理办法 (Measures for the Issuance and Dissemination of Meteorological Disaster Warning Signals), Articles 2–3 (source dated 2007-06-12 (issued as CMA Order No. 16; effective on issuance); read July 25, 2026)
The same colours cover every hazard
A warning signal is made up of a name, an icon, a standard and a defence guide, and the same colour scheme spans the lot: typhoon, rainstorm, snowstorm, cold wave, gale, sandstorm, high temperature, drought, lightning, hail, frost, heavy fog, haze and road icing. A visitor only has to learn one ladder — high temperature and cold-wave alerts are rungs of it, not a separate system.
Article 2
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局) Order No. 16, published on www.cma.gov.cn — 气象灾害预警信号发布与传播管理办法 (Measures for the Issuance and Dissemination of Meteorological Disaster Warning Signals), Articles 2–3 (source dated 2007-06-12 (issued as CMA Order No. 16; effective on issuance); read July 25, 2026)
Typhoon orange and red suspend classes and business
On the CMA typhoon-signal standard, the defence guide for both typhoon orange and typhoon red says to stop gatherings, suspend classes and suspend business (except special industries). That is the closure a visitor actually walks into — scenic-area group activity, schools and much day-to-day business stopping — appearing officially from the orange level up.
Typhoon orange & red defence guides
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局), www.cma.gov.cn — 台风预警信号 (Typhoon warning signals) — colour standards and defence guides (read July 25, 2026)
Outdoor and coastal activity stops from blue
You do not have to wait for red. Even at typhoon blue — Force 6+ wind within 24 hours — the defence guide is to stop open-air group activities and dangerous outdoor work at height, and by yellow it adds large indoor and outdoor gatherings. If your plan is a boat trip, a coastal walk or an open-air attraction, a blue or yellow typhoon signal is already your cue.
Typhoon blue & yellow defence guides
Source: China Meteorological Administration (中国气象局), www.cma.gov.cn — 台风预警信号 (Typhoon warning signals) — colour standards and defence guides (read July 25, 2026)
In short
Warning-signal questions travellers ask
What the colours mean, when things close, and the train-and-flight question everyone gets wrong.
What do the blue, yellow, orange and red weather warnings in China mean?
They are the four levels of one national warning-signal ladder: blue is Level IV (general), yellow Level III (relatively severe), orange Level II (severe) and red Level I (especially severe). Blue is the lowest and red the highest, per the China Meteorological Administration's issuance rule.
Is the colour system the same for a typhoon, a heatwave and a cold snap?
Yes. The CMA rule uses the same blue-to-red scheme for every hazard type it lists — typhoon, rainstorm, snowstorm, cold wave, gale, high temperature, haze, road icing and more. Learn the one ladder and it reads across all of them; a red high-temperature signal and a red typhoon signal are both the top rung.
At what point do things actually close?
For the typhoon signal, the officially published defence guides tell open-air group activity and dangerous work at height to stop from blue, add large gatherings by yellow, and suspend classes and business (except special industries) from orange and red. So the widespread closures a traveller notices start at typhoon orange.
Does a red signal automatically stop the trains and flights?
No opened official source says a warning colour automatically suspends rail or air services. The signals tell schools, gatherings and business to stop; whether your specific train or flight runs is an operational decision the railway or airline makes on the day. Check 12306 for your train and your carrier for your flight — do not assume a red signal alone has cancelled it, or that a lower colour means it is running.
Where will I see the warning signal?
Signals are broadcast widely — weather apps, TV, station and scenic-area boards. The CMA rule requires the name, icon, standard and defence guide, marked in Chinese and English, so the colour and its level are the part you can read at a glance even without the Chinese text.
Not confirmed
What no opened source would let us say
The claims we could not source from a page we opened are printed here rather than asserted.
- No source opened for this guide ties a specific warning colour to an automatic rail or flight suspension. The colour standards state the school/gathering/business closures each level triggers, but suspending a train or a flight is an operational call the railway or airline makes on the day. Regional news reports describing staged train suspensions were not opened as authorities, so this guide points you to 12306 and your carrier rather than asserting a colour suspends services.
- The high-temperature and cold-wave signals are named rungs of this same CMA ladder, so they are covered here as part of the one scheme. No distinct official heat-health or cold-wave traveller advisory was opened, so this guide does not add health instructions beyond what the warning-signal rule itself carries.
- The wind-force thresholds and defence-guide wording are the CMA typhoon-signal standard's own. Other hazard types (rainstorm, high temperature, cold wave and the rest) each have their own standard and defence guide that this guide does not reproduce in full — read the signal's own defence guide when one is issued for the hazard you face.
If your flight is delayed or cancelled
The airline-side delay and cancellation flow — what you are owed and what to do at the airport.
Open the guideA heavy air-pollution red alert
What an AQI red alert actually closes — schools, outdoor sites and half the cars on the road.
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Every in-trip recovery guide in one place, from a lost passport to a shut-down trip.
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