BEIJING - Beijing released a citywide orange alert and regional red warning on blizzard early Sunday morning as a cold spell swept across northern China, local authorities said.

As of 10 am Sunday, the capital has received an average precipitation of over 50mm, a new record since 1951 in winter which lasts from November to next March, said Beijing Meteorological Center.

In the Fenghuangling region in Haidian district, the snowfall has lasted for over 40 hours and brought the maximal precipitation to 96mm.

China has a four-tier color-coded snow warning system: red, orange, yellow and blue. Red is the most serious level.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) Saturday said Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi and the mountainous areas in western Beijing will see blizzards as the cold wave moves eastward.