China renews blue alert for rainstorms

BEIJING - The meteorological authority renewed a blue alert for storms Monday morning, forecasting heavy rain in parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Shandong over the next four days.

Up to 130 millimeters of rain is expected in the areas, according to a statement on the website of the National Meteorological Center.

Torrential rain is also forecast for parts of Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan from Monday through Thursday.

Meanwhile, the heat wave will persist in the Sichuan Basin, parts of Shaanxi, areas between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, as well as regions south of the Yangtze river over the next three days, with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius.

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