Rainfall to ease in flooded south

After days of downpours in the south, many flooded cities will begin to see sunshine and high temperatures starting on Wednesday and lasting for five days, according to the national weather authority.

An average of 11.2 centimeters of rain fell nationwide in June, 13 percent higher than the month's average level for the past 30 years, with the southern regions having had more than 45 cm of precipitation, 24.1 percent higher than the previous average, Li Mingmei, deputy director of emergency and disaster reduction and public service of the China Meteorological Administration, said on Tuesday.

Hunan province has seen accumulated precipitation of 39.6 cm and neighboring Guizhou province had 34.8 cm, the highest in June since 1961, said Li, adding that many areas in the southern provinces were hit by floods or other disasters like landslides.

"From Wednesday, these regions affected by continuous rainfall will see temperatures of 35 to 38 C," she said.

The continuous downpours lingering in these provinces were mainly caused by strong subtropical high pressures, the usual dominant summer weather system in China, said Ai Wanxiu, senior engineer at the National Climate Center.

The subtropical high pressure belt, which brought stable rainfall, has moved southwest and is forecast to affect Sichuan province and neighboring areas from Wednesday night to Friday, Li said.

When the wet southern cities embrace hot, dry temperatures, northern regions including Beijing will see heavy rainfall.

Since June 26, residents in many northern and north western cities like Beijing, Shijiazhuang of Hebei province and Xi'an in Shaanxi province have experienced dryness and heat - Shijiazhuang, for example, had four straight days when the high temperature exceeded 35 C, according to the administration.

On Tuesday, rainfall disrupted Beijing traffic, causing the cancellation of more than 300 flights in the morning, according to the airport.

But more regions in the north and northwest will experience torrential rains, with regions in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Shaanxi, and the cities of Beijing and Tianjin seeing heavy rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday, the center said.

The center has warned the provinces of Sichuan and Hebei, and Beijing to be alert to geological disasters, and cautioned the provinces of Anhui and Sichuan about flooding.

zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn