BEIJING - China's summer could be hotter and stormier than normal and the country could be hit up to nine typhoons from June, state media said on Wednesday, citing the country's top meteorologists.
This week, violent rainstorms triggered floods in the southwestern city of Chongqing, killing one person and forcing the evacuation of more than 23,000 others, the Beijing News reported.
The National Climate Centre urged local governments to take precautions, saying about 30 tropical storms or typhoons would form in the northwest Pacific Ocean or South China Sea this year, the official China Daily added.
"With the weather shifting between high temperatures and heavy rainfalls, China may experience more droughts than floods," China Daily quoted a top meteorologist as saying.
Temperatures in 10 major Chinese cities are expected to be above long-term levels in May, but will be more variable over the three months to July, forecasts from the China Meteorological Administration provided to Reuters showed.
Over the May-to-July period, northeastern Shenyang will be the only city with temperatures noticeably above averages for the 1971 to 2000 period, with the export hub of Guangzhou seen slightly cooler and Shanghai hovering around long-term levels.
A warm summer could strain the electricity grid and boost demand for diesel to drive individual generators, or extra electricity from fuel-oil powered stations, although officials expect supply shortfalls to be far less than in recent years.
China is hit by droughts, floods, typhoons and blizzards each year. The death toll from natural disasters in 2005 was almost 2,500, according to government statistics.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
