BEIJING - A strong cold spell that has swept Central and East China will continue to affect the country's eastern regions over the next two days, China's meteorological authority said Thursday.

It gets so cold in Beijing that a puppy has been dressed up with clothes to keep warm on Dec 8, 2011.[Photo/Asianewsphoto]

The National Meteorological Center issued a blue alert for the cold spell Thursday morning, the lowest level in the country's four-scale alert system.

Northeast and South China, as well as regions along the Yellow, Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, will be affected the most, with temperatures dropping by 12 degrees Celsius, the center said.

In the next 24 hours, snow and sleet will hit some parts of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as well as the provinces of Gansu and Shandong, the center said.

Moderate rainfall will hit areas south and east of the Yangtze River, as well as southwest China and Taiwan, over the next 24 hours, while sleet and icy rain will hit Southwest China's Guizhou province, the center said.

The center continued to issue a yellow alert, the second-lowest alert level, for offshore gales in eastern and southern sea areas, including the East China Sea and South China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Taiwan Strait.