Sun shines in northern China, rains hit the south

China's meteorological authority said Thursday that sunny weather in the north will continue to push up temperatures, while the country's southern regions will see persistent rainfall.

Temperatures in most parts of northern China, regions between the Yellow and Huaihe rivers and those between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers will rise to 20 to 33 degrees Celsius starting Thursday, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

Meanwhile, most regions in the south will be hit by showers, with the northeastern parts of Hunan Province, southern and eastern parts of Jiangxi, southwestern parts of Zhejiang, central and western parts of Fujian, central and northern parts of Guangdong and western and eastern parts of Guangxi receiving heavy downpours starting Thursday.

The NMC also forecast hail and thunderstorms for some of the aforementioned regions.

Despite widespread rain in the south, the country's southwestern parts remain mostly arid. The NMC warned of high possibilities for forest fires in some areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi.