The National Meteorological Center, is warning people of a cold front sweeping across northern China. It is also expected to hit southern China in the coming days with a drastic drop in temperatures.

 

At Altay Prefecture in in the country's northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, snow covers the feeding grounds for the region's one hundred thousand sheep, cows and horses. The local authorities are dispatching trucks to move the herds to a valley area 300 kilometers away. So far, nearly half of the livestock has been transferred.

Temperatures in Altay are expected to drop to below minus 42 degrees Celsius, with wind speeds of up to 115 kilometers per hour. Visibility is expected to fall as gusts of wind create a snow haze.

The continuous heavy snowfall has affected more than 370 thousand Altay residents and caused a direct economic loss of more than 150 million yuan. Local authorities are allocating 360 tons of essential supplies to help the victims.

Cold weather has created a large area of ice in the Bohai Sea, including Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay and Laiozhou Bay. The largest sheet extends some 70 nautical miles. Maritime traffic, aquaculture and oil rigs are affected. Weather forecasters say the situation may worsen on Wednesday.

The cold front is expected to reach most of northern China on Tuesday with temperatures falling by 8 to 18 degrees Celsius. The cold snap will continue to affect southern China from Wednesday until Friday.