BEIJING, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Unseasonably cold weather and blizzards hit northeast China on Monday, forcing hundreds of flights to be rescheduled and closing schools as several cities issued heightened weather alerts and warned people to stay indoors.
China's weather authority warned of a drastic drop in temperature in coming days, along with blizzards, anticipated to substantially affect several cities, state media reported.
Provinces and cities upgraded weather response protocols as heavy snowfall is expected in parts of Inner Mongolia, and Hebei, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, China Daily reported.
Chinese weather forecasters kept orange alerts for blizzards in several areas, while China's National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert for blizzards and a blue alert for cold waves and strong wind, Global Times reported.
China has a four-tier colour-coded weather alert system, with red the highest, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Persons:
Bernard Orr, Ella Cao, Raju Gopalakrishnan
Organizations:
Harbin Taiping International Airport, China Daily, Central Meteorological Observatory, Meteorological Center, Global Times, Central Meteorological Administration, Thomson
Locations:
BEIJING, China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, Jilin, Liaoning, Mongolia, Weibo, Provinces, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai