It will become warmer in most parts of China today and tomorrow, according to meteorologists.

This might be good news for people who have been living in unseasonably cold conditions for the past few days. But for those in southwest and south areas who have suffered the cold weather during Spring Festival, the next chance of rain is on Wednesday.

In Beijing, the temperature rose slightly yesterday after remaining chilly since a heavy snow fell on February 15.

The temperature in Beijing in February was been 2.1 C lower than that over the same period in normal years, statistics showed.

The temperature in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, reached a low of 20 C below zero early yesterday morning, but will stop dropping and rise a little, the Liaoshen Evening News said.

That is because the cold wave that had been affecting the city departed by yesterday, the report quoted meteorologists as saying.

Cold weather in the country in the past few days really brought trouble.

During February 16 and 18, parts of southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, including Kashgar and Aksu, were hit by torrential snow, which had posed great threats to people.

In Sangzhu Village in the Pixian County, parts of the ground were covered by a snow quilt as thick as 70 centimetres. The snow caused some livestock deaths and collapsed houses.

A rescue team was sent immediately and more than 100 tons of relief materials, such as food and quilts, had reached residents, the report said.

In Central China's Hunan Province, 87 villages in Miluo have experienced rarely-seen damage from the weather. The loss could total nearly 100 million yuan (US$12 million), the Hunan Daily reported.

Food and fuel supplies are in short supply for 1,000 local families due to snow and ice that have sealed in the region. About 14,000 houses have collapsed and 800 household animals such as pigs and cows have died.

Rescue effort are being made to help local people, according to Hunan Daily.

Local governments have tried modern techniques in mitigating the damage of bad weather. According to Xinhua, Anhui Province managed to save 200 million yuan (US$24 million) last year by such means as producing artificial rain.

(China Daily February 22, 2005)