BEIJING - China's national observatory on Sunday issued a yellow alert for heavy fog in northern, eastern and southwestern China, including Beijing.

The fog will hit Beijing and parts of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces from Sunday evening to Monday morning, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

In some of those regions, visibility may fall below 200 meters.

A cold front will help disperse the fog from Tuesday morning while bringing falling temperatures, rain and snow in parts of northern China, it added.

The NMC suggested residents to take precautions to ensure traffic safety.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.