Heavy to torrential rains will threaten most of the areas between China's Huaihe and Yellow rivers and between the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers, the Hanshui river valley and Sichuan Basin in the next few days, according to the Central Meteorological Station on Monday.
The affected areas include Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces in China's southwestern, northwestern, central and eastern parts. Some of the areas can expect thunderstorms or hurricanes, said the forecast.
Meteorologists hold that the rainy weather is caused by the northward move of the subtropical high pressure over the northwest Pacific Ocean and have warned local departments to guard against and control flood and geological disasters, such as mud-rock flows and landslides.
Meanwhile, regions south of the Yangtze River and south China areas will face high, scorching temperatures with the maximum daily temperature above degrees 35 Celsius over the next three to four days, the forecast said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2003)
