BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Wednesday forecast that a fresh wave of cold air will sweep across many parts of the country in the coming days, bringing temperature drops and rain and snow.

Affected by the strong cold front, Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions and the provinces of Jilin and Liaoning will see temperature declines of 10 to 12 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The chill will be accompanied by gales in those regions, and the temperature in some places will drop as many as 14 degrees.

The center also said rain and snowfall was expected. While eastern and southern areas will embrace moderate precipitation, areas including Xinjiang Uygur and Tibet autonomous regions will be hit by heavy snow and even blizzards in the next few days.

A yellow alert for thick fog especially in northern areas was renewed Wednesday morning.