BEIJING - The National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Tuesday issued a blue alert for sandstorms in north China in the coming days.

The NMC said a strong cold front will sweep north China from Tuesday to Thursday, bringing strong winds, dusty weather and temperature drops.

Parts of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia will be affected by dust from Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening, said the NMC.

Southern parts of Xinjiang, western parts of Inner Mongolia and parts of Qinghai will see sandstorm, with severe sandstorms expected to hit parts of the Southern Xinjiang Basin, according to the NMC.

China has a four color-tier-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.