Rainfall in North China has begun to break up the heat and humidity afflicting the region. Yesterday, the temperatures in the region fell below 30 C.

However, the wet weather proved to be a double-edged sword: While helping some areas, it brought misery to others.

The rain, which begun at the weekend, was by yesterday morning affecting 11 provinces in China's North, Northeast and Northwest, lowering temperatures by between 3 and 6 C. Inner Mongolia in North China saw temperatures drop by as much as 8 to 10 C.

A source at the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said that more rain was forecasted for most of China over the next three days, with stuffy weather alleviated by tomorrow, due to fading sub-tropical high pressure.

"Around August 18, the persistent oppressive heat controlling North China and regions between the Yellow and Huaihe rivers is hopefully going to fade away due to an approaching cold air system from the east," he predicted.

While alleviating the stuffy weather and providing precious water for the North's dry farmland, the rainy weather is likely to cause more flooding and related disasters like mud-rock flows and landslides, he warned.

Yesterday, precipitation in parts of the provinces of Heilongjiang, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong and Yunnan exceeded 50 millimeters.

In Beijing, a record 940 million cubic meters of water were added to the Miyun Reservoir, the most significant source of drinking water for the capital.

However, in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, 36 people are still missing from recent floods and related disasters, with millions of others affected by deluges from swollen rivers. Floods and related disasters have killed 910 people so far this year in the mainland.

(China Daily August 17, 2005)