BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- China's meteorological authority said Thursday that northern regions will be blanketed by smog in the next two days.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast medium to severe smog in Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei and Shandong provinces, due to low wind. In addition, the regions will experience fog in the mornings of Friday and Saturday.

The center also forecast snow for northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Thursday and Friday, with temperatures dropping by up to 10 degrees.

South China will experience rain in the coming three days, with thunderstorms across the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the center said.