More than 1,300 shelters in Guangzhou, which is hosting the first Asian Para Games from Dec 12 to Dec 19, were told on Tuesday to prepare to receive the homeless as a cold front moves in and temperatures plummet.

The temperature in the city, capital of Guangdong province, which had an average temperature of 17 C on Monday is expected to drop to a low of 9 C on Wednesday, accompanied by precipitation ranging from drizzle to mild rain, and to dip to 4 C on Thursday, the city's meteorological bureau said.

The city's civil affairs bureau has required the shelters, which provide food, clothing and heating, to acquire more quilts and heating equipment, said bureau director Li Zhizhen.

Civil affairs bureaus at the district and county levels and rescue organizations were called upon to patrol the city to identify those in need, as well as to visit low-income households, Li said.

Attempts will be made to persuade the homeless to make use of the shelters. Those who refuse to go will be provided with food and clothing to help them keep warm.

Social welfare homes, nursing homes and mental hospitals affiliated with the bureau will receive more stockings, hats and heaters.

Non-government organizations and volunteers are being encouraged to help those in difficulty, while an emergency alert system will monitor the elderly who live alone.

The civil affairs bureau has 1,000 heaters, quilts and clothing available for those in need, Li said.

The Guangdong provincial government has issued a cold weather alert, as the lowest temperature in some northern, mountainous areas of the province is expected to drop to -5 C later in the week.

Ice and frost have been forecast for parts of western Guangdong and mountainous areas of the province.

The cold front arrived in a number of other areas of China on Tuesday, when temperatures were forecast to drop more than 10 C in 48 hours, accompanied by gales.

The China Meteorological Administration on Tuesday issued a blue level alert over the cold weather, with heavy rain and snow in some places.

(China Daily December 15, 2010)