Beijing authorities have set strict deadlines for residents and organizations to clear snow from outside their buildings this winter -- despite the mercury still hovering at 15 degrees Celsius.

"When snow falls, please join us in clearing it to ensure smooth and safe road traffic and keep the city clean," reads the letter published on the bureau's website.

The bureau will send 50,000 copies of the letter in the coming week to individuals and organizations along major downtown streets to prepare them for the snow season.

Dustmen employed by the bureau are instructed to start clearing the streets from the outset of every snowfall, and the bureau has requested roadside stores, companies and other institutions to sweep the snow from their doors within four hours.

Overnight snow must be cleared before 10:00 a.m., according to the bureau's regulations.

Organizations that fail to do so will be fined between 500 and 1,000 yuan (US$62.5 to 125).

The bureau will also launch real-time monitoring of the snow through 150 closed circuit television cameras installed on major thoroughfares to monitor peddlers and illegal distributors of commercial leaflets.