Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    THE Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow alert Thursday as Shenzhen is forecast to experience its coldest weather in five years this weekend.

    The chill from the north, said to be the strongest in five years for the city, will start to affect the city Friday and is expected to bring temperatures to as low as 4 degrees Celsius on Monday.

    The cold air, accompanied by rainfall, will leave the city’s highest temperature below 10 degrees Celsius over the weekend. No relief is expected until Wednesday, when the predicted lowest temperature will pass 10 degrees.

    The observatory will consider upgrading the alert to an orange level when the cold front is reinforced over the weekend.

    The low temperatures will seriously affect traffic going north for the Spring Festival holiday because northern Guangdong will see rain and snow, the observatory said. The roads could be icy, frozen and slippery as temperatures in central and northern Guangdong hit 2 to 3 degrees Celsius.

    The city’s emergency office opened shelters Thursday for homeless people.

    The Shenzhen Aid Center on Thursday started searching for homeless people who sleep on the street. The center is offering food, medicine and clothes, and asking the homeless to take shelter at the center.

    “If they don’t want to come to our center, we will provide them with overcoats and food,” said Xie Xiao, deputy chief of the center.

    The number of people taking shelter at the center has increased by 30 percent in the past two days.

    China’s national observatory Thursday issued a yellow alert for cold.

    Starting Thursday night temperatures could drop by 14 degrees Celsius to record lows in Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, the National Meteorological Center said.

    Cold air will move south over the next three days.

    China has a four-tier warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue. (Photo Highlights on P9)