The National Meteorological Center of China on Wednesday released a weather alert signalling possible snowstorms in the southern part of the country and a significant temperature drop of 14 degrees Celcius -- with temperatures hitting a 30-year low in cities like Shanghai and Changsha.

Bracing for the week of extremely cold weather, school have been suspended while emergency respondents are on standby. From Wednesday to Saturday, cold air from the south is expected to travel along Yangtze River regions. It will reportedly bring up to 30 mm of snow. 

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The city of Beijing is likely to experience its lowest temperature in almost 30 years --  as low as negative 17 degrees Celcius. However, the city will only see light snowfall.

Hail may also be expected in mountainous areas in the southern part of the country. On the other hand, two days of heavy snowing in expected in Zhejiang province. It will cover most of the province by a 15-cm blanket. Qiandao Lake will be reportedly closed to public.

Farmers have been advised to put organic fertilizers on their crops and vegetables as the frost may damage the plants as well as to reinforce utilization of plastic greenhouses for the mean time. However, a farmer from Hunan province has complained that loss is imminent. In fact, he foresees that only one-tenth of his crops are likely to survive as temperature will drop below zero for several days.

Even electricity establishments are preparing for the cold weather, removing ice from core facilities. The government is also taking extra measures to avoid power failure, traffic jams and train or flight delays to lessen the impact of the bad weather as the Chinese Lunar New Year is fast approaching.

Experts say the upcoming frost will not be like the winter in 2008, when China was affected by its worst blizzard in five decades - leaving more than 100 people dead and causing damages worth about 150 billion yuan.  

TagsWinter Season, cold weather, Temperature