Winter arrived early in Beijing today with heavy snow covering the Chinese capital.  Heavy rain turned into snowfall overnight with temperatures dropping drastically. Residents and visitors in the capital woke up to a white first day of November, with snow covering buildings and trees.

In Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city, tourists huddled under umbrellas as they took in the sights. The first snow came two months earlier than last year, head of the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Observatory, Guo Hu, was cited as saying by state media.

The Beijing Weather Modification Office said it had artificially increased the snowfall to ease a lingering drought, official state news agency Xinhua reported. The minimum temperature in Beijing was expected to touch minus three degrees Celsius, Xinhua reported.

The snow and slush slowed down traffic but no serious accidents were reported in the city earlier in the morning.  According to state media several flights arriving at the Beijing Capital Airport had been delayed due to the severe weather. Snow also caused havoc in the northern Jilin province, with strong winds and snowfall breaking trees.  State television CCTV showed workers in the city of Yanji clearing large branches of trees that had fallen on roads and blocked traffic.

The National Meteorological Centre issued an alert today morning against a cold front, forecasting strong winds and a drop in temperatures in north, central and east China, Xinhua reported. Temperatures could drop up to 14 degrees Celsius in parts of northern and eastern China, it said.