China braces for snow and sandstorms
BEIJING (Reuters) - Temperatures are expected to drop by up to 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) across most of China in coming days, bringing snow in the northeast and sandstorms in the west, state media said.
The state weather observatory launched a cold weather emergency response plan on Wednesday to tackle disasters after record cold and snow brought down power lines and paralyzed much of the usually mild south earlier this year.
National and 23 provincial meteorological departments have been ordered to be on high alert and closely monitor the cold current and snowstorms, Xinhua news agency said.
Parts of northeast China and the eastern Shandong province would be hit by heavy snowstorms triggered by a strong cold current that is expected to sweep much of the country until Friday, Xinhua quoted the China Meteorological Administration as saying.
"The strongest cold current the country has encountered so far this winter will also bring sandstorms to the western provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia on Wednesday and Thursday," the administration warned.
According to the CMA forecast, most of northern China will see a temperature drop of 8 to 10 degrees Celsius, with some regions experiencing a fall of more than 14 degrees as the cold front from western Siberia moves through.
"Southern China will also experience a temperature drop of 6 to 10 degrees Celsius," Xinhua said.
(Reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by Ken Wills)
