Residents drive in a heavy rain in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province on June 1, 2024. Photo: VCG

China entered its general flood season on Saturday, with the flooding in the southern region already in full swing, according to the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), while an expert told the Global Times on Sunday that this year's flood season in the southern part of China started earlier than usual.

This year's general flood season, anticipated to run from June to August, will be characterized by both flooding and droughts, with the former causing more damage than the latter. Extreme events are also anticipated to be more frequent, widespread and intense, with greater impact, according to the MWR's press release on Thursday. 

Some small and medium-sized rivers in South China's Hainan Province and Guangdong Province and East China's Fujian Province may see moderate and above flooding due to heavy rainfall, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the MWR.

Local officials in Central China's Hunan Province predict that the province will generally have more rainfall in June, leading to the water levels of the province's major rivers to rise to varying degrees, according to Xinhua.

Overall, flooding will generally occur in the eastern and southern regions of China, while droughts will mainly occur in the western and northern regions, Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Ma noted that the current flood season characterized by both floods and droughts is the result of the rapid transition from El Nino to La Nina, the two climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide. 

Global warming, which has seen maximum temperatures setting records worldwide over the past few years, is another factor, Ma said. According to Indian media reports, the India Meteorological Department also reported the highest ever temperature recorded in India on Wednesday at 52.3 C. 

Relevant departments are closely monitoring rainfall, water level changes, conducting consultation and judgment, and actively engaging in preventing and responding to heavy rain and flooding, Xinhua has reported.

The flood control authorities in Beijing also reminded the public on Sunday to pay attention to related forecasts and warnings, and familiarize themselves with emergency shelter procedures for the flood season.

The MWR departments have basically established a complete flood detection system that has the ability to track the movement of floods on a rolling basis and monitor the flood situation in real time in an all-round way, according to the MWR.