The current sultry weather in Beijing will linger on for several more days and people should pay special attention to their health, experts said Thursday.

Beijing residents have been suffering from a hot and damp atmosphere since it rained last weekend.

The sauna-like weather has caused health problems for an increasing number of people, especially the elderly.

More elderly people have gone to the emergency room of the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital suffering from problems with their heart, respiratory tract or lungs, said Liu Hongxu, the emergency room's director.

The humid weather also increased air pollution on Wednesday, Thursday's Beijing Youth Daily quoted the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau as saying.

According to Zhang Mingying of the Beijing Meteorological Observatory, the current sultry weather will continue until Sunday or Monday, when thundershowers are forecast for Beijing.

He added that Beijing is currently affected by a subtropical high pressure that is also affecting other parts of North China and East China.

Liu said such weather can weaken people's ability to resist diseases.

The use of air-conditioners adds to the problem because they increase the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, he said.

"People should also be careful about what they eat," Liu said. Liu's emergency room was also attended by people with diarrhoea.

He suggested that people drink more water and make sure that their food is fresh.

People should also participate in fewer outdoor activities to avoid excessive perspiration, he added.

While Beijingers were sweating in the capital, residents in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, were drenched by a thunderstorm on Wednesday.

The local Nanfang Daily reported that Wednesday's thunderstorm delayed 28 flights at Guangzhou airport and no plane took off or landed for nearly one hour.

The newspaper said that, from 10 am to 12 noon on Wednesday, there were between 3,000 and 4,000 instances of thunder and lightning above Guangzhou.

However, the recent frequent rainfall did bring some comfort to Guangzhou's people as the highest temperature in the city was no hotter than around 30 degrees.

( China Daily August 2, 2002)