The first snow of the Chinese Year of the Goat, which started on February 1, fell unnoticed by most Beijingers in the capital yesterday, said an expert from the Beijing Meteorological Observatory who preferred to remain anonymous.

The expert said that although the snowfall was only light, people should watch out for the strong winds and resulting temperature drop.

"Put on enough clothing to avoid catching cold or fever," he said.

Fortunately, the bad weather is expected to loosen its grip on the city from tomorrow, and temperatures will rebound slowly from below zero to an average of 4 degrees centigrade this week.

Most of the week will remain clear, said the expert.

Most other parts of the country will experience similar changes. The Central Meteorological Observatory forecast yesterday that the cold front would move steadily in a southeasterly direction. Most affected areas will see rain or snow, accompanied by force 4-6 northerly winds.

While the temperature in North China is expected to slump by 14 degrees centigrade, it will fall by 4 to 8 degrees in most of southern China.

The observatory also warned of the dangers of forest fires in Southwest China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces during coming windy days.

(China Daily February 10, 2003)