Look: Cold wave grips China as temperatures in south plummet

Beijing: Gripping cold weather swept across major sections of China on Thursday while many areas in the south will see sharp drops in temperatures over the next few days, Chinese weather forecasters predicted.

The cold snap is widespread - moving from northern China where several provinces have already been hit with blizzards to central and southern areas like Guizhou province - and pushing deep into the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Delta area.

"This cold wave is powerful, later this week it will be a big move south," said meteorological analyst Wang Weiyue, according to CCTV state media.

Northerly winds have drifted into many parts of China and temperatures will drop, national weather forecasters predicted, with some northeastern cities such as Shenyang and Harbin clocking readings as low as minus 26 to 27 degrees Celsius until Dec. 18, in what would be their lowest readings so far this year, according to the national broadcaster CCTV.

"Finally know what it means to freeze purple," wrote a netizen on Weibo, a social media app, referring to the colour codes of the coldest areas in the country.

Gale warnings were also issued in Xinjiang, western Tibet, Ningxia region, Qinghai province and parts of Inner Mongolia, according to weather forecasters. The cold forced governments to continue to shut schools. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, asked parents to implement home-schooling for kindergarten, primary and junior high schools children.

A woman and child carry groceries along a sidewalk on a snowy day in Beijing on December 13, 2023.

A woman poses for photos in an imperial costume beside the moat which surrounds the Forbidden City, during a snowfall in Beijing on December 13, 2023.

People walk through a park during a snowfall in Beijing on December 13, 2023.

Women pose for pictures near the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023.

People play with snow amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023.

People walk across a road near the Drum Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023.