Freezing weather unlikely this winter

BEIJING - Parts of North China are already being hit by unusual cold spells, but Chinese scientists have been saying that the extremely cold winter predicted recently by Polish scientists is unlikely.

Because of the cold air mass, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong provinces, as well as Beijing, have experienced dramatic temperature drops recently.

A strong cold air mass will hit most parts of the country through next Tuesday, heralding winter's first cold, Sun Jun, chief forecaster of the National Meteorological Center, said.