Frequent rain since June has eased the drought that has troubled Beijing since 1999, but water authorities have warned against over-optimism.

Beijing residents could feel the city was getting more rain this year, but it was still early to say the drought was coming to an end, said Liu Lizhi, a spokesman with the Beijing Water Affairs Bureau, on Thursday.

According to Beijing Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the city has suffered a drought for seven consecutive years from 1999 to 2005, when the annual rainfall was only 70 percent of the average since records began.

In May this year, the drought reached its worst point in 50 years, with only 17 millimeters of rainfall.

Total precipitation since June was 209 millimeters, 15 mm higher than the same period last year, according to statistics from the Beijing Water Affairs Bureau.

"But it is still below the yearly average of 233 mm," Liu said. "The drought has only been alleviated, but not ended."

The accumulated precipitation since the beginning of the year was 285 mm, 15 mm less than the annual average.

The Miyun Reservoir, the largest storage facility in northern China regions and the city's main water source, has acquired 176.57 million cubic meters of water since the beginning of the flood season June.

"But we still have to wait until the season ends in August to see whether the drought has ended," Liu said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2006)