Fog to shroud S China: NMC

China's meteorological authorities said on Monday that the country's southern parts will get a break from rain but be shrouded in fog through Tuesday morning.

On Monday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center responded to the threat of fog by issuing a blue alert, the lowest level in the country's four-scale fog alert system.

Fog and haze will decrease visibility to within 1,000 meters in parts of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Yunnan provinces, and as low as 200 meters in some areas, according to a statement on the center's website.

A cold front will sweep northern regions from Monday evening, dragging temperatures down by four to eight degrees Celsius, the statement said.

Some areas may even see temperatures fall by 10 degrees Celsius during the next few days.

Parts of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as well as Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces will receive moderate to heavy snow, according to the statement.