Cold front to bring snow and ice to Beijing and northern provinces

A cold front will bring a blast of early winter weather across much of northern China today, including Beijing, where preparations are underway for the 18th National Party Congress, weather authorities warned.

Northern provinces were expected to get hit with wind, rain and snow as temperatures tumble towards zero. The capital was expected to shiver amid a wintery mix of precipitation, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said.

The most severe temperature changes were expected in Inner Mongolia , Shaanxi and Shanxi.

Light snowfalls were expected in Inner Mongolia and Hebei, the China Meteorological Administration said.

Prompted by the cold blast, Beijing, Hebei and Shandong turned on their municipal heat supplies about two weeks ahead of schedule, China News Service said.

The coming cold front was unlikely to significantly affect the party congress, which begins on Thursday, as temperatures were expected to climb back to a high of 13 degrees by Tuesday.