The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a yellow alert for high temperatures across many northern provinces on Monday, forecasting widespread heat above 35°C and localised temperatures exceeding 40°C. At the same time, heavy rainfall continues to batter the south, prompting flood warnings and emergency responses, the Global Times reports.
Searing heat swept Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin and parts of Xinjiang on Monday, prompting authorities to advise schools to suspend outdoor activities during peak hours. On Sunday, Hebei Province’s capital, Shijiazhuang, recorded a temperature of 40.2°C.
Meanwhile, the NMC issued a blue alert for torrential rain in eight southern provinces and regions on Monday, including Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sichuan and the Xizang Autonomous Region.
[See more: A yellow hot weather alert is in force in Macao]
Southeastern parts of Guizhou were braced for hourly rainfall of up to 120 mm, with other areas forecast to receive hourly rainfall exceeding 60 mm accompanied by thunderstorms and gales.
Floodwaters already surpassed warning levels in 27 rivers across Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan over the weekend, according to the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR). Yunnan’s Mengtong River recorded its worst flooding since 1979. In Guangdong’s Huaiji county, flash floods earlier this month affected around 300,000 people and prompted the evacuation of nearly 70,000 residents.
The ministry is maintaining a Level-IV flood emergency response in Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan Guangxi and Guizhou, with task forces deployed to assist with flood control efforts.
