Heavy rain to sweep North, Southwest China

BEIJING - Heavy rain will hit parts of North and Southwest China over the next three days, with the National Meteorological Center (NMC) issuing a blue alert for rainstorms on Monday.

The NMC said downpours will hit parts of the Sichuan Basin, North and Northeast China and areas along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, as well as Gansu, Shaanxi and Yunnan provinces in the west, on Monday and Tuesday. Some areas will have rainfall of 100 to 160 mm.

The NMC added that Rumbia, the sixth tropical storm to hit China this year, is moving towards coastal areas in South China's Guangdong and Hainan provinces.

The storm will hit the provinces Monday night or Tuesday morning, bringing downpours, thunderstorms and hail to both areas, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The center also said hot weather will hit areas south of the Yangtze River in the coming days.

Temperatures will surge to 35 degrees Celsius in the region and some areas will see temperatures climb to 37 to 39 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.