China issues blue alert for heavy rain

BEIJING - The National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Sunday issued a blue alert as heavy rainfall affecting southwest and south China were pushed further eastwards.

From Sunday to Tuesday, heavy rain will batter the southern parts of Yunnan Province, regions south of the Yangtze River and south China, the NMC said in an online statement.

The observatory forecast downpours as heavy as 100 to 120 millimeters in some areas of Jiangxi, Fujian and Hainan provinces, in addition to Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi that have been affected by strong rainfall since Friday.

Under a strong cold snap, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces will see temperature down by 4 to 8 degrees Celsius in the next three days, the NMC added.

The NMC also warned of moderate to heavy snow in northwestern and northeastern parts of Yunnan and western parts of Guizhou from Sunday to Monday.

China has a four-tier warning system for extreme weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.