Rainfall warning for holiday travelers

Travelers in central and eastern China need to be aware of a large-scale rainfall event during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival from Saturday to Monday, the China Meteorological Administration said on Thursday.

The CMA warns that regions including parts of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Xizang autonomous region and Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces are expected to experience significant rainfall.

Zhang Hengde, deputy director of the National Meteorological Center, said the meteorological risk for traveling in these areas is rated as high, and the public should closely monitor weather forecasts.

Special attention should be paid to mountainous areas, where rainfall can trigger geological hazards, such as landslides, he added.

Meanwhile, the main wheat-producing areas in northern China will enter the concentrated mechanized wheat harvesting period in early to mid-June.

The CMA forecasts that light to moderate rain will fall in drought-stricken regions such as southeastern Gansu, southern Shaanxi and southwestern Henan from Saturday to Monday.

Zhang said the precipitation is expected to alleviate drought conditions, although it may temporarily hinder wheat harvesting in some areas.

Over the next 10 days, no significant rainfall is expected in central and northern Shaanxi, northwestern Henan, southern Shandong and northern Anhui, providing favorable weather conditions to accelerate the wheat harvest in these provinces, he said.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, nearly 20 percent of the summer wheat harvest is complete, with 4.67 million hectares already harvested as of Monday.