This image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the morning of January 29, 2008, shows how extensive the unusual snow cover is. The image encompasses most of eastern China, save the northernmost provinces and the cloud-covered southern coast. From north to south, nearly the entire country is covered in snow.
Unlike a photo, which uses the visible light that the human eye sees, this image includes both infrared light and visible light to provide a contrast between snow and clouds. Snow is red-orange, while clouds are white and peach. Some of the worst-affected provinces, such as Guangdong along the southern coast, were still under cloud cover when MODIS captured this image. Other areas, such as the North China Plain (where Beijing is located), are snow-free. The ground is green-blue, the shade of bare or sparsely vegetated earth in this type of image.

Some of the more severely affected provinces are labeled in this image. These provinces are in the south, where snow is unusual.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. Caption by Holli Riebeek.