Heavy rain in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province Photo: VCG

Rainfall has become more frequent and intensified across southern China in recent days, with the National Meteorological Center (NMC) continuing to issue a Level IV blue alert for severe convective weather and a Level III yellow alert for rainstorms on Sunday morning, following a yellow rainstorm alert the previous day, according to the China Meteorological Administration. 

Heavy rains are expected in southern China including most parts of South China's Guangdong Province, central and southern parts of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and central and southern areas of East China's Fujian Province from 8 am Sunday to 8 am Monday.

Parts of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian are expected to see heavy downpours, with rainfall in some coastal areas of eastern Guangdong possibly reaching 250 to 280 millimeters. Short-term intense rainfall, thunderstorms and gales may also affect some areas, according to the NMC.

Besides, China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has maintained a Level-IV emergency response for flood control in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, East China's Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, as well as Central China's Hunan Province, urging personnel to conduct renewed inspections, rectification and implementation measures in key areas including critical infrastructure, vulnerable sections of dikes and embankments. Efforts have also been strengthened to manage and protect vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, the sick, people with disabilities and pregnant women, as well as residents in mountainous areas, along small and medium-sized rivers, and downstream of small and medium-sized reservoirs. The authority urged local governments to take precautions and organize evacuations if necessary, per CCTV News.

Explaining the causes behind the concentrated period of heavy rainfall in southern China, Zhang Fanghua, chief forecaster at the NMC, said the onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon in early June has brought large amounts of warm and humid air from the ocean into China, providing sustained moisture and energy for heavy rainfall in the south.

At the same time, cold air from the north has moved southward, with cold and warm air converging from areas south of the Jiangnan region to South China, leading to the persistent heavy rainfall, Zhang said.  

In response to the continuing yellow rainstorm alert, China's Ministry of Transport on Sunday maintained the Level-III emergency response for heavy rainfall that it had launched on Saturday.

The ministry has coordinated transport authorities in several affected provincial-level regions, as well as maritime authorities in Guangdong and Guangxi, urging them to stay on high alert, closely monitor areas hit by concentrated or prolonged rainfall and take firm measures to prevent major accidents. The ministry said it will adjust the emergency response level in a timely manner based on changes in rainstorm alerts.

For the severe convective weather alert, parts of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, central and southern parts of northeastern China, southeastern parts of the Jiangnan region, and central and eastern parts of South China are also expected to experience thunderstorms, gales or hail from 8 am Sunday to 8 am Monday, and Northeast China's Liaoning Province is expected to experience thunderstorm gusts exceeding force 11(a wind speed of 28.5 to 32.6 meter per second).

Global Times