China's top meteorological authority issues first red alert of 2024

On Monday, China's top meteorological authority issued this year's first red alert for heavy rainfall, the highest-level in its four-tier system, warning of strong precipitation in the southern regions this week.

The National Meteorological Center said from Monday through Thursday, continuous heavy rainfall is expected in areas of the northern and southeastern regions of Hunan, southern Anhui, northern Jiangxi and western Zhejiang, with certain areas experiencing strong convective weather such as thunder, lightning and strong wind.

The lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin has continuously been hit by strong rainfall since last Monday, with accumulative precipitation in areas such as Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan ranging from 200 to 400 millimeters. The precipitation levels even reached 713 mm in certain areas of Hunan's Changde and Anhui's Huangshan, the center said.

On Sunday evening, the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration renewed the highest alert for mountain torrent in western Zhejiang and northeastern Jiangxi.