Sizzling summer tops the record list_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Sizzling summer tops the record list

As of Monday, more than 60 million hectares of farmland had been affected by severe drought, and nearly 8 million people were facing drinking water shortages.

Zhang Fanghua, chief weather forecaster at the National Meteorological Center, said that after Thursday, temperatures will fall gradually in southern China and rainfall will increase in Guizhou and Hunan provinces, where severe drought is expected to ease.

She said the center will downgrade the heat alert from orange to yellow on Thursday.

However, northeastern China has been battered by thunderstorms, with damaging wind gusts and hail.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said severe flooding, not seen since 1987, hit Heilongjiang province in the past week, posing a great threat to public safety.

The headquarters asked the authorities to stay alert and watch water levels on the Songhua and Nenjiang rivers.

On Tuesday, two teams of experts were sent to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Jilin province to help prepare for potential rainstorms.

The National Meteorological Center has forecast heavy rainfall for Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Heilongjiang before Friday.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.