People brave the snow to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing on Sunday. Photo: CFP

Icicles hang over a doorway in one of Beijing's ancient hutong areas. Photo: CFP

An armed soldier stands guard on Tiananmen Square. Photo: CFP

A sanitation worker clears snow from the streets of the capital on Sunday. Photo: CFP

Thousands of travelers had their plans disrupted when flights to and from Beijing Capital International Airport were delayed or canceled. Photo: CFP

Beijingers will have to wrap up extra warm in the coming days, with the city forecast to see its coldest November day in 45 years this week.

According to the National Meteorological Center, temperatures at night will drop down to a biting minus 12 C on Wednesday and Thursday.

The last time Beijing experienced weather as frosty as this in November was in 1970, meteorologist Li Huan'an told the Beijing Times.

The early snowfall and appearance of icy temperatures in recent days has worsened traffic and brought inconvenience for pedestrians that have to negotiate the city's slippery sidewalks.

On Sunday night, nearly 700 flights from Beijing Capital International Airport were canceled, with many other flights to the city delayed or detoured, according to Central China Television.

On the bright side, it has given residents a rare chance to see the city under a white blanket. On Monday, crowds braved the arctic weather and flocked to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and other scenic spots.

While some residents enjoyed the snow, sanitation workers are hard at work. According to Beijing Youth Daily, the city sent out 37,000 workers and more than 4,000 vehicles to shovel snow off the streets on Monday, using 13,824 tons of salt.

While North China freezes, residents of South China are wearing shorts and flip flops. The temperature in some places in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Province hit 30 C this week.

But Hunan Province in Central China and its neighbor Jiangxi Province have suffered unseasonal floods. Compared to the season's usual dryness, rivers and lakes in the region have been breaking their banks due to continuous downpours.

Zhou Bing, senior engineer from the National Climate Center, believes the El Nino phenomenon is to blame for the recent abnormal weather in China. "El Nino is taking its toll. The 'wolf' is coming!" Zhou was quoted as saying by the China Meteorological News. "Although the mid-high latitude areas of China haven't had a direct connections with it, its indirect impact is showing."

Global Times - Agencies