The chill is growing, and the depths of winter are approaching. As the cold front sweeps through the streets, alleys, and countryside, and across the mountains and peaks, the Big Dipper, true to form, “brings warmth,” silently watching over each and every one of us. 

　　Natural Gas: Keeping Everyday Warmth Alive 

　　In Urumqi, Xinjiang, inspection vehicles have become “warm workstations” for patrol crews. In 2026, on rural roads in Sandaba Town, Midong District, high-precision gas leak detection vehicles slowly patrolled along the “coal-to-gas” pipelines. Inside the vehicle, the Beidou positioning system marks the inspection location in real time, while a laser detection device with an accuracy of one part in a billion continuously scans the pipelines; combined with Beidou positioning, even the smallest leaks can be precisely pinpointed. In Midong District, winter temperatures frequently drop to minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Traditional manual inspections require walking against the wind, making it easy to overlook hidden hazards. The detection vehicle has shifted most outdoor work to in-vehicle operations, allowing an area that previously took half a day to inspect to be completed in just one hour; the vehicle’s heating system also makes all-weather patrols possible, ensuring that “the vehicle keeps working even when the crew takes a break.”

　　In Tianjin, the “NQI + Beidou” system has shifted gas leak detection from “passive detection” to “active monitoring.” In 2026, China Certification & Inspection Group (CCIC), in collaboration with China Resources Gas, deployed multiple gas leak detection vehicles in Tianjin. Equipped with gas concentration sensors, wind direction sensors, and BeiDou positioning devices, these vehicles use urban geographic data to precisely pinpoint leak locations and transmit the data in real time to an AI model and gas utility departments. The solution integrates BeiDou precision positioning with laser spectroscopy technology, achieving detection accuracy at the ppb level. By generating a cloud-based map of gas leak risks, it provides data support for the safe operation of gas pipeline networks and situational awareness of urban lifelines. 

　　Cooling Down: Holding the Line on Power Supply 

　　In Guiyang, Hunan, the Beidou Ice Accumulation Monitoring Platform has upgraded “ice monitoring” from traditional manual patrols to 24-hour online monitoring. In January 2026, a cold snap struck southern Hunan, causing ice accumulation on power lines in the high-altitude areas of Guiyang County. State Grid Guiyang County Power Supply Company activated its latest BeiDou-based ice monitoring platform to monitor and analyze the 13 line segments that had historically experienced the most severe icing. The equipment automatically reports on-site icing conditions every hour, transmitting the data back to the transmission line panoramic monitoring platform. Based on this data, staff determine whether to initiate de-icing, thereby establishing a 24-hour, uninterrupted monitoring system for line risks. 

　　Polar Regions: Holding the Exploration Coordinates 

　　At the Great Wall Station in Antarctica, breakthroughs were achieved in the operation and maintenance of BeiDou reference stations and in aerial surveying using domestically produced drones, ensuring coordinate security in “the coldest place on Earth.” During China’s 36th Antarctic Expedition, the expedition team completed the operation and maintenance of the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System reference station at the Great Wall Station and conducted site selection for the BeiDou geodetic control network on Fields Peninsula. Building on this foundation, for key survey areas inaccessible to drones, the team developed an integrated imaging system combining BeiDou positioning with image and video capture, enabling the large-scale acquisition of centimeter-level fusion remote sensing data; To address the challenges of applying China’s domestically developed Gaofen-7 satellite in Antarctica, the team subsequently developed processing methods based on the seven-parameter plane method and the joint adjustment of footprint images, producing China’s first set of 1:10,000-scale topographic map products for Antarctica that meet accuracy requirements. 

　　In situations of extreme cold, Beidou establishes a lifeline that does not rely on ground-based networks. Beidou rescue terminals are integrated into Wild Snow ski suits, enabling them to reliably transmit location data and send distress signals even when buried in deep snow or under extreme weather conditions. 

　　Beidou’s warmth is never just an empty promise—it provides the supplies that must never be cut off in the depths of winter, the rescue efforts that cannot be delayed, and the coordinates that are absolutely essential. May this silent yet precise protection bring warmth throughout the entire winter.