China issues orange alert for cold wave

Beijing, Dec 28 (IANS) China's meteorological authority on Monday issued an orange alert for a strong cold wave expected to sweep across most parts of the country's central and eastern regions.

From Monday to Thursday, the temperature in most parts of central and east China is expected to drop by 10 degrees Celsius, Xinhua news agency quoted the National Meteorological Center (NMC) as saying.

Meanwhile, temperatures in some areas in northwest, northeast, north and south China will drop by 12 to 16 degrees Celsius, it said.

According to the NMC's forecast, the cold wave will bring gales to the aforementioned regions and some sea areas near east and south China.

The centre advised the public to take precautions against the cold weather and strong winds.

China has a four-tier colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.