Citizens wade through the heavy rain in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on March 30, 2026. Photo: VCG

Despite South China's Guangdong Province having officially ushered in summer, hailstorms have been battering the region. As of 12:00 noon on Monday, a total of 12 orange alerts for hail had been issued across the province, Chinese media outlet Southcn.com reported.

The Guangdong meteorological observatory forecast that significant severe convective weather will affect Guangdong from Monday to Tuesday, Weather China, a website affiliated with China Meteorological Administration, reported on Monday.

Sweeping from west to east, the province will experience intense convective hazards including heavy rainfall, thunderstorm gales of Force 8 to 10, and hailstorms, with localized gusts of approximately Force 12 or tornadoes possible in some areas, the report said.

Heavy to torrential rain will hit Maoming, Yunfu, northern Guangdong, and cities and counties in the Pearl River Delta, Weather China reported. Moderate thundershowers are expected across the rest of the province, with localized torrential rain in some regions, said the report.

As of 12:09 pm on Monday, a total of 14 orange alerts for rainstorms, 12 orange alerts for hail and 62 thunderstorm gale alerts were in effect across Guangdong, Southcn.com reported on Monday.

However, the official Weibo account of Guangdong Meteorological Service announced on Friday that Guangzhou entered summer on March 19, its earliest onset since 1961. The occurrence of hail in late March has surprised some local residents.

Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times that the occurrence of hail requires ample moisture and intense updrafts. As summer has just begun and the subtropical high has yet to fully establish, hail is therefore relatively prone to forming, he added.

Wang Zihao, a student from Jinan University, told the Global Times on Monday that torrential rain has been battering Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, since Sunday with such intensity that the downpour appeared to whip up a misty spray. 

Having lived in Guangzhou for three years, this is the first time he has witnessed such heavy rainfall in late March. "Some teachers have said they will teach online, as the downpour makes commuting extremely difficult, and with trees toppled on campus, it's not exactly safe either," Wang said.

According to data from aviation industry information provider Umetrip, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport suffered widespread flight disruptions on Monday, with a flight delay rate reaching 88 percent, making it the domestic airport with the highest number of flight cancellations at the time, financial news site Yicai reported.

Data from Flight Master showed that as of noon on Monday, the arrival flight delay rate at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport stood at 41.46 percent, with 12 flights having been diverted, per Yicai.

In addition to air traffic, some high-speed rails have also been affected. On Sunday, strong winds caused an object to become entangled in an overhead contact line of high-speed railways, leading to power outage and resulting in the suspension of services on some high-speed railways, according to Guangzhou railway authorities. 

Apart from Guangdong, China's National Meteorological Center forecast that from 2 pm Monday to 2 pm Tuesday, parts of northern and eastern Guangxi, southern Hunan, southern and eastern Jiangxi, western Fujian, and southwestern Zhejiang will also experience heavy to torrential rainfall, Weather China reported.