BEIJING (Reuters). China’s weather agency has issued the winter’s snowstorm orange alert. This is the second highest level. On Sunday, widespread cold wave alarms were activated nationwide, raising concerns about possible traffic disruptions.

According to the National Meteorological Centre, blizzards were forecast in Northeastern China. Some regions received 45 millimetres of snow (1.8 inches) over 24 hours. Heavy snow was expected across northern China.

Beijing received its first snow 23 days before normal year, and temperatures Sunday night should drop to the lowest point in the last decade.

According to the Weather Agency, a cold snap has also been sweeping across China, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. It is expected to bring down temperatures as low as 14° Celsius (25° Fahrenheit).

Cold wave that could lead to flu epidemics, is occurring as nearly 20 cities in north China report COVID-19 case and occasional outbreaks in the southwest – Chongqing, Yunnan, and Sichuan provinces – since mid-October.

Many thousands of Beijingers gathered outdoors to see snowy spots like the Forbidden city and Universal Studios Resort despite COVID-19 restrictions. This was as 300 members of the Communist Party Central Committee prepared to meet from Monday through Thursday.

The Beijing Daily reports that snow piles up in COVID-19 lockeddown communities cannot be removed from these areas.