Heavy snowfall to hit North China, Olympic host cities step up weather monitoring

BEIJING -- Heavy snowfall is expected to hit parts of North China from Friday through Sunday, the country's meteorological authority said.

Moderate to heavy snow will lash parts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, Shanxi province and Inner Mongolia autonomous region over the weekend, with snowstorms expected in some areas, according to a statement from the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

The snow will be accompanied by temperature slumps from 4 degrees to over 8 degrees Celsius, the NMC said.

Through late Friday, parts of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region may get snowfall of up to 5 to 8 millimeters, while some other parts of North, Northwest and Southwest China may see light to moderate snow.

China will enhance the accuracy of weather forecasts with the help of precise meteorological monitoring networks in Beijing's Yanqing district and Zhangjiakou city in Hebei province, both housing venues of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Zhao Weidong, spokesperson for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, told a press conference on Thursday.

The committee will also work with other stakeholders of the Winter Games like the International Olympic Committee on rescheduling competitions if necessary to minimize the impacts of extreme weather conditions, Zhao said.

Over the weekend, the NMC also forecasted intensifying rains in some areas of southern China, while snowfall or sleet will affect parts of provincial regions including Guizhou, Chongqing and Hubei.