China maintains blue alert for cold wave

 BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center(NMC) on Saturday kept its blue alert for the severe cold wave that is sweaping many northern China regions.

The observatory¹ said temperature drop will continue to decline from the weekend to Monday after many parts of China had started to experience the lowest temperatures this winter.

Most parts of China, except the central and southwestern regions, will see temperature fall by 6 to 8 degrees Celsius² in the next three days, with some parts of north and northeast China to witness a drop of 10 to 14 degrees Celsius, according to the NMC.

On Saturday morning, temperatures in parts of Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, Gansu, Shanxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Fujian and Guangxi dropped by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius from a day ago, and by 12 to 16 degrees Celsius in parts of Liaoning and Jilin.

China's meteorological disaster alerts are categorized as blue, yellow, orange and red as the severity of disasters ascends³.

The NMC also forecasted small to moderate snow for parts of Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and Hebei while heavy snow for Shandong Province on Saturday. Parts of south China and Guizhou Province will see sleet⁴, while freezing rain will fall on west and central Guizhou.

1 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

2 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

3 ascends   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The azygos vein ascends in the right paravertebral gutter. 奇静脉在右侧脊柱旁沟内上升。 来自辞典例句
• The mortality curve ascends gradually to a plateau at age 65. 死亡曲线逐渐上升，到65岁时成平稳状态。 来自辞典例句

4 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。