BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The national observatory late Monday forecast rain in most parts of south China, while a cold front is expected to sweep across most parts of the country starting Tuesday.

Light or heavy rainfall will hit south China from Monday night to Thursday, with some areas between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers and regions south of the Yangtze River to expect heavy rainfalls, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

A cold front will hit most parts of China from Tuesday to Thursday, with Guizhou and Yunnan provinces as well as some other northwestern and southern regions expecting temperatures drop by 4 to 8 degrees Celsius, according to the NMC.

The cold wave will bring the temperature down by over 10 degrees Celsius in some places, it said.

From Monday night to Tuesday morning, light to moderate smog will linger in regions between the Yellow and Huaihe rivers and parts of north China, with heavy smog expected to blanket parts of Hebei and Shanxi provinces.

The cold front is expected to disperse pollution from Tuesday, the NMC predicted.