Temperatures are expected to drop between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius sometime around Sunday and Monday in central and eastern China. (Photo : Getty Images)
Localized warming has already began in northeastern parts of the country, the National Meteorological Center announced on Sunday, Jan. 24, according to a report by China Daily.
Meanwhile, the cold front that continues to sweep southern China is causing the lowest temperatures ever recorded in decades.
According to the National Meteorological Center, temperatures already increased by up to 10 degrees in some parts of China on Saturday. Despite the localized warming, the center renewed orange alerts for southern regions.
Temperatures are expected to drop between 6 and 8 degrees Celsius sometime around Sunday and Monday in central and eastern China. Meanwhile, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River can expect -12 degrees Celsius during the time period.
The cold front affecting the whole country began its southward journey on Thursday evening, bringing temperature drops of up to 16 degrees Celsius. Many parts of the country were ravaged by heavy snowstorms, while some regions recorded low temperatures.
Beijing experienced -16 degrees Celsius on Saturday morning, said the local meteorological center. The record low, which was close to the lowest recorded temperature in three decades, slowly warmed come Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Shanghai experienced its lowest temperature in 35 years on Sunday morning at -7.2 degrees Celsius. The last time the city was gripped with this much cold was back in 1981.
Hong Kong, which is accustomed to a subtropical climate, also experienced chilly conditions as temperatures dipped to 3.3 degrees Celsius, its lowest point in almost 60 years.
The cold wave also brought Guangzhou's first snowfall in 67 years on Sunday. Chinese social media were flooded with pictures and videos documenting the rare weather conditions in the capital of Guangdong Province.
Due to the extreme cold, mobile phones were frozen. Approximately 377 flights in Chongqing were canceled. Fujian Province experienced power failures. Parcel and long-distance deliveries were also affected as services were suspended due to the harsh weather conditions. In Liaoning, 40 percent of Liaodong Bay froze with a thickness between 10 and 40 centimeters as temperatures dipped to below -20 degrees Celsius.
China's national observatory, however, predicted that the wave will exit southern China starting on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
