BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Thursday issued a yellow alert for a strong cold front, which will bring temperature drops and strong wind to the country's northern, central and eastern regions.

Starting Thursday night, temperatures in these areas could drop by 14 degrees Celsius, with Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces to see record low temperatures, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

The cold air will move south in the next three days, bringing strong wind to regions along the Yangtze River and North China Plain, the NMC said.

China has a four-tier warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.