After almost two weeks of below-freezing weather brought by a cold wave that swept through most of China, a round of warm air will begin to flow from the country's north to south lifting temperatures from the weekend.
Northern and northeastern parts of the country have experienced blizzards and record-breaking cold since last week, with some areas in the northeast hitting minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) and below as bitingly cold air flowed from the Arctic.
While China still forecasts new temperature lows this week, weather patterns will improve with the mercury rising to reach over 10 C (50 F) in many places in the central and eastern regions on Monday, state television CCTV said.
The warmer conditions are expected to last until the end of December, resulting in warmer-than-usual temperature in most parts of the country for this time of the year.
A cold wave fuelled by a powerful wave of cold air from the Arctic region covered most of mainland China in the past week, making temperatures in many regions drop significantly.
In northern Tianjin, its meteorological department said temperatures will slowly rise from Saturday, with Sunday's high above 0 C (32 F) and a minimum not lower than minus 10 C (14 F). Forecasts show Tianjin to hit a maximum of minus 2 C (35 F) for Friday.
