More rain is forecast for about half of the country in the next 10 days, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said on Friday.

The rain will cover northern China, the eastern part of the southwest, and the western part of southern China, the NMC said.

Precipitation in these areas is expected to be 20 percent to 50 percent more than in ordinary years, and some regions will get double their normal rain totals, according to the NMC.

The center also said that the drought was likely to linger and even intensify in northwest Ningxia and the western part of Inner Mongolia.

However, the earthquake-hit Sichuan Province and the southern part of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces will be sunny, with daytime highs in excess of 31 degrees Celsius from Saturday to Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2008)