A strong cold front will increase the chillness in China's northern provinces while bringing the unusually persistent scorching heat in southern and eastern provinces to an end, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

The administration forecasts that from Thursday to Sunday, a strong cold front moving from the nation's western part to the east will cause temperatures to drop sharply in most areas.

It estimated that most provinces will see a temperature drop of 4 to 8 degrees on average during this period, with the country's northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region and provinces in central, northeastern and southern parts like Beijing and Hunan province expected to see a temperature drop of over 10 degrees.

The cold front will go southward from Friday to Wednesday, under which most parts of the nation will see the lowest temperature of the second half year, said the administration.

Affected by the meeting of cold front and warm air currents, several provinces in the nation's southwestern, northwestern and central parts including Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan and Hubei, have experienced torrential rains from Thursday. The administration noted that the rainband goes eastward and southward with the strength of the rains reducing on Friday.

People living in the central and eastern provinces are advised to wear warm clothing due to the sharp temperature change, while those living in southwestern and eastern provinces should stay alert to floods or landslides after continuous rains.

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and provinces in China's northeastern parts will see frosty weather, so it's necessary to speed up the autumn harvest in these areas, it added.