China is experiencing the strongest cold front so far in the second half of this year, with most parts of the nation forecast to see a sharp drop in temperatures, experts said.

There is a high possibility that Beijing will see an early start to winter this weekend, and the temperature drop will bring the unusually persistent scorching heat in the eastern and southern provinces to an end, according to the latest forecast by the China Meteorological Administration.

Ma Xuekuan, chief forecaster of the National Meteorological Center, said that a strong cold front will move from the north to the south and continuously affect the nation's central and eastern parts from Thursday to Tuesday, adding that these areas will see temperature drops of 6 to 10 degrees.

Among these provinces and areas, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and those in the country's central part will see temperatures drop by 10 to 14 degrees, or even over 15 degrees, during the period, Ma noted.

"It's so far the strongest cold front affecting China in the year's second half based on its range and degree of influence," he said, adding that the nation's northern provinces will see the temperature keep falling next week.

He said that China's central part and provinces along the eastern part of the Yellow River and Huaihe River, including Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Shandong, will witness the temperature plunge by 10 degrees in five consecutive days from Saturday, with a higher possibility of the onset of winter.

Shi Xinxin, a weather analyst from China Weather TV, said there is a very high possibility of Beijing seeing an early arrival of winter on Saturday, as reported by the People's Daily on Friday.

According to Shi, Beijing will see the average day temperature fall below 10 degrees in continuous 7 days from Saturday. Historically, from 1991 to 2020, the city has seen the start of winter on Oct 31, which will move up now because of the ongoing cold front.

Affected by the strong cold front, provinces and regions south of the Yangtze River and the nation's southern part, such as Shanghai and Zhejiang, will also see a quick temperature change that will end the unusual heat wave there, according to Ma, the chief forecaster.

He added that from Sunday to Friday, the southern provinces will see temperatures 2 to 4 degrees lower than usual in previous years.

The meeting of the cold front and warm air currents also brought torrential rains to southwestern provinces and provinces along the Yellow River and Huaihe River such as Sichuan and Chongqing on Thursday and Friday. The rains will ease from Saturday after the cold front moves southward.

Noting the sharp temperature change, the China Meteorological Administration has reminded the public to be careful of weather-related risks like flu, and to be covered in adequately warm clothing.

chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn