Cold front will bring end to streak of warm weather

A strong cold front sweeping through most parts of China will bring low temperatures and strong winds in the coming three days after a recent surge in temperatures across the country, the national observatory forecast on Tuesday.

Most parts of northern China saw a rise in temperature ranging from 2 to 6 C, with some regions in the northwest increasing more than 10 C. Shenyang, Liaoning province, reached 21 C on Tuesday. Its first day over 20 C usually falls around April 9, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The situation is the same in the south, where most places were expected to experience highs for the year on Wednesday. The temperature in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, for instance, is expected to rise to 30 C, a high that usually occurs in May or even June, the observatory said.

Affected by the cold front, the temperature in most parts of the northern provinces will fall 6 to 8 C, with some areas of Liaoning province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region expecting a temperature plunge of about 14 C, the center said.

The temperature drop will be coupled with strong winds during the daytime in many parts of Hebei, Shanxi and Gansu provinces, as well as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Inner Mongolia and northeastern China.

The observatory also warned that sandstorms will hit parts of Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions, as well as Gansu, Qinghai and Shaanxi provinces.

The decreases in temperature are not limited to the north. Most regions in southern China have also seen a widespread plunge in temperature, together with strong winds and rainfall.

Starting Tuesday, many regions along the Yellow, Huaihe and Hanjiang rivers, and many parts in Chongqing and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region will be swept with medium to heavy rain, with downpours expected in some places of Anhui and Hubei provinces.

"But as the temperature was already high before being hit by the cold front ... people won't feel too cold. A warning for the cold front was issued on Tuesday to remind the public," said Zhang Tao, chief weather forecaster of the National Meteorological Center.

The observatory has urged the public to take the necessary precautions against weather changes. The center also issued a blue alert for continuous low temperatures, which are expected to last until the weekend.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.