China issues first orange alert for freezing weather

China's first orange alert for freezing since the establishment of the warning system in 2010 was issued by the country's meteorological authority on Thursday.

From Thursday to Sunday, continuous freezing rain will hit southern Henan, Hubei, central and northern Anhui, northern Jiangsu, central and northern Hunan, eastern Guizhou, and southeastern Chongqing, the National Meteorological Center said.

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

China has only issued two yellow alerts for freezing — the first in February 2013 and the second last December.