Winter-weather will affect large areas of the
country from Tuesday, said China Central Meteorological
Observatory.
A Siberian cold front moving eastward from the
eastern parts of the northwest to north and northeast China, is
expected to send temperatures plummeting 10 to 14 Celsius degrees
from yesterday's average temperature of 13-14 Celsius degree.
People in north and northeast China, who have been
enjoying unseasonably warm weather, will find themselves reaching
for their woolly hats and heavy coats against the strongest cold
air current of the season.
The cold currents are expected to last until Friday in most
affected parts, and to produce rain, sleet and strong winds in
Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia, with temperatures
falling 10 to 12 Celsius degrees.
It will become rainy, foggy and windy in eastern
parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Yunnan. Drizzle and
moderate rain are likely to sweep across northern parts of the
Yangtze and Huaihe river valleys on Thursday and Friday.
Gale-force winds will also hit China's sea regions
during the next three days.
The cold spell began to affect Beijing yesterday with cloudy and
windy conditions. Over the next three days, the temperature is
expected to drop 4 to 6 Celsius degrees on average with moderate
winds.
"Current temperatures in Beijing are 3 to 4 degrees
higher than the average year," said a forecaster from the Beijing
Meteorological Observatory.
The end of the warm weather brings the cold and flu
season with it. "Flu and colds are just more common in winter
months because that's when the virus spreads," said a Dr Wang, from
Beijing’s Anzhen Hospital.
People are more likely to catch colds when the
temperature changes dramatically, she said.
(China Daily November 23, 2004)
