(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-11 08:51

The Lunar New Year holiday may have come to an end, but the inclement weather that lashed the country before the festival is likely to return for a few more days.

Though the millions of people returning to their places of work may not have to endure the difficulties they encountered while going home, they still could face some problems because the Central Meteorological Station has forecast more rain and snow in most parts of Southwest China.

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Guizhou, one of the hardest hit provinces, seems set for another round of sleet and icy rain during the next two or three days.

Heavy snow or even blizzards are likely to lash parts of Tibet autonomous region, and the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan in the next three days.

A strong cold front has built up in North China, and will cause light or moderate snowfall in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and parts of Heilongjiang province in the next two days.

Areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River can expect warmer temperatures. But the weather office has advised people there to take precautions because the temperature will still dip below zero at night.

Snow, rain and sleet have battered the eastern, central and southern parts of the country since mid-January, affecting 100 million people in 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

But life in those areas is gradually returning to normal as transport and power supply are being restored. The disaster relief and emergency command center, under the State Council, said on Saturday that vehicular traffic in snow-hit southern China, except in some areas of Guizhou, had been restored.

In its daily briefing on the progress in disaster relief, the center said rail and road transport across the country, except a few counties in Guangxi and Guizhou, are quite normal. Traffic controls have been imposed on some low-grade roads in Guangxi and Guizhou because of icy roads.

Overall, rail, road and air transport in the southern regions was running on schedule, the center said.

Xinhua - China Daily