Two women clean up snow in the Lugu residential area in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2010. A sleet hit Beijing Sunday morning. [Photo: Xinhua]

A new cold snap began to affect Beijing early Sunday, bringing sleet and light snow to the city.

China's central meteorological station issued an alert of cold snap on March 12, just three days after the center canceled the last warning of cold wave.

The snow is forecasted to last until Sunday afternoon, according to Beijing municipal observatory.

The largest precipitation was recorded in Changping at 5.9 mm from 8 p.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday, and average precipitation stood at 2.6 mm for the whole city, according to the observatory.

"It will be a sunny day Monday and the highest temperature will rise to 6 degrees Celsius," said an expert with the observatory.

The observatory also warned that temperatures next week will change frequently, and citizens should pay close attention to weather forecast.