BEIJING: Cold weather gripped large swathes of China on Thursday, with sharp falls in temperature expected over the next few days, particularly in the south, weather forecasters said, in unusually frigid weather for December.

The cold snap is moving from several northern provinces hit by blizzards to central and southern areas such as the province of Guizhou, and pushing deep into the lower reaches of the Yangtze River delta.

"This cold wave is powerful, later this week it will be a big move south," said meteorological analyst Wang Weiyue, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

By Sunday, temperatures south of the Yangtze could reach zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), while provinces just north of the Yellow River, such as Shandong, could see minus 10 C (14 F).

Further north, temperatures could approach historical lows for this time of the year or even surpass records, national weather forecasters warned.

In Beijing, snow has been building since Monday in the capital of nearly 22 million. Temperatures are expected to further slide to minus 12 C (10.4 F) on Friday from about minus 3 C (26.6 F) on Thursday.

Major northeastern cities, such as Shenyang and Harbin, could register as low as minus 27 C (minus 16.6 F) in what could be their lowest this year, CCTV said.

Weather charts and maps on social media also revealed the rapidly deteriorating weather in the south, with temperatures across some provinces set to fall by more than 14 C or even 20 C by the end of the week.

"Finally know what it means to freeze purple," wrote one user on social media app Weibo, referring to the colour codes of China's coldest areas.

FROST BITE

Temperatures were at a record low for a second straight day in several areas. Parts of the Inner Mongolia region and the province of Shaanxi, Jilin, and Liaoning saw falls of more than 20 C, along with gusty winds, weather authorities said.

Gale warnings were also issued in the far western region of Xinjiang, western Tibet, the Ningxia region, Qinghai province and parts of Inner Mongolia, they added.

Snow and ice forced the closure of 126 highways across several provinces, CCTV said. Sleet and hail were also reported in the central province of Henan, with heavy snowfall expected, media said.

The cold forced authorities to shut schools. Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, ordered home-schooling for younger children. It also suspended several train services.

Parents in Shaanxi complained that lack of heating in a junior high school left children with frost bite on hands and feet, with one child's bruises shown in a picture posted on social media.