Temperatures in north and west China are expected to plunge sharply to below freezing over the weekend, China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) warned Friday.

Temperature drops of 6 to 12 degrees Celsius would bring freezing conditions to areas including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the western part of northeast China and parts of Qinghai Province.

Gansu, Shanxi and Hebei provinces would see temperatures plummet to near freezing, the observatory said.

A sharper temperature fall, from 14 to 16 degrees Celsius, was expected for southern Xinjiang, northern Ningxia, western Gansu and western Inner Mongolia, said an alert issued by the NMC.

It also forecast strong winds and snow in these areas, with heavy snow to blanket some areas in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Hebei and Shanxi over the next two days.

The NMC advised people to put on more clothes, fasten doors and windows, and pay attention to news and weather reports.