Real winter is coming as temperatures will slump nationwide and heavy rain and snow will hit central and eastern China until Sunday, the National Meteorological Center said.

From Tuesday through Thursday, temperatures will drop by 8 to 10 degrees in North and Northeast China.

Heavy rain with precipitation between 10 and 12 centimeters will fall in the provinces of Liaoning, Shandong, Sichuan and Henan. Meanwhile, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang will see snow.

From Friday through Sunday, temperatures in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the north of the river will drop by 4 to 10 degrees as rain and snow batter the areas.

Ma Xuekuan, chief forecaster of the center, said that as cold air becomes increasingly active, temperatures in most parts of the country will keep dropping over the next 10 days starting from Monday.

"This round of precipitation will be the strongest since October. The accumulated precipitation in Liaoning province and areas along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers will exceed that in normal years," Ma said.

"The warm and humid air from the southwest brought water vapor to northern and eastern areas and created a smooth path for more warm air to travel north," he said.

Ma said it is unlikely that snow disasters will occur during this period because temperatures remained high in most parts of the country earlier this month.

"High temperatures and abundant water vapor during the previous weeks will produce wetter snow than last year, which means part of the snow will melt when it hits the ground," he explained.

The center said that Northeast China will experience winds as strong as 88 kilometers per hour, and winds in the Bohai, Yellow and East seas could reach 102 km/h. It warned that people operating vessels at sea in these areas need to stay alert.

Ma added that the cold temperatures and precipitation will also have a positive effect, creating atmospheric conditions that can diffuse air pollution in northern parts of the country. He said conditions will improve starting on Tuesday afternoon.

With more precipitation, foggy weather will increase, the center said, recommending that highway and shipping departments pay attention to the impact of fog on traffic safety.