Chinese and foreign tourists bundle up in heavy winter clothing, some in traditional Chinese imperial winter court attire, as they brave the biting cold wind to visit the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing on November 16, 2025. A powerful cold front arrived in the capital on this day, bringing gusts reaching Force 7-8 and plummeting temperatures. Photo: VCG

 

A cold wave is sweeping across China, causing strong winds and a sharp temperature drop that may affect energy supply and agricultural production in the affected areas, according to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Monday. Multiple regions have implemented measures to ensure production safety and protect people's daily life.

Over the next 10 days, cold air activity will be fairly frequent. In particular, a cold wave is forecast to continue affecting southern China on Tuesday. Average temperatures in most areas south of the Huanghuai region - a geographical area that encompasses parts of several provinces, including Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong, will drop by 6-10 C, with localized drops of 12-14 C, according to the NMC.

On Monday, China's Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) also issued a notice warning some regions to be on alert for a prolonged cold wave, with temperature drops in some localities exceeding 14 C, and gave the public some safety advice, according to a release published on the ministry's WeChat account on Monday.

The NMC on Monday issued a blue alert for a cold wave. Under the influence of a strong cold front, it is forecast that from 8 pm on Monday to 8 am on Wednesday, northern and eastern regions of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Chongqing and some other areas will see temperatures drop by 6-8 C, according to the NMC. 

In addition to cold wave warnings, some areas have also implemented agricultural cold-protection measures. 

Agricultural departments and farmers across many parts of East China's Jiangsu Province have implemented cold protection and insulation measures for greenhouse and protected agriculture, according to the local authorities. For instance, in Donghai county, Jiangsu Province, the local agricultural authorities are mobilizing multiple combine harvesters to complete the rice harvest, according to Donghai Fabu on Sunday.

To cope with the cold wave, a major agricultural market urged vendors to stock vegetables in advance and implement necessary thermal-protection measures in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi Province, according to a report by China Central Television on Monday. 

The manager of the large agricultural market in Taiyuan said they had been actively organizing suppliers to buy large quantities of seasonal and winter-stored vegetables from around Taiyuan, and have also been procuring cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans and the like from other provinces to meet local demand, according to the report.

Global Times