Photo taken on Nov. 22, 2015 shows the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China. Heavy snowfall hit a vast area of north China on Sunday, disrupting traffic in Beijing, Tianjin and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Photo: Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
China's weather observatory issued a blue alert on Sunday for a cold front that will sweep north and central China in the coming two days.
The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast the cold front will bring a sharp temperature drop up to 12 degrees Celsius and strong winds from Sunday to Tuesday to the regions in the northwest, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and most parts of central and northeastern provinces.
The center suggested affected areas take precautions as temperatures are expected to plunge.
The NMC earlier on Sunday renewed a blue alert for blizzards in the north of the country, with some areas expected to see snowfall of up to 12 millimeters,
In China's four-tier color-coded weather warning system, red represents the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.