China has experienced widespread heavy rainfall in recent days, with some areas recording precipitation levels exceeding historical records. The meteorological authorities continued to issue an orange alert for rainstorms on Monday evening. Meanwhile, experts said extreme weather events have become more frequent in recent years.

According to the National Meteorological Center (NMC), heavy rain and rainstorms were expected from Monday evening to Tuesday across parts of central, eastern and southern China. Some regions were forecast to receive up to 150 millimeters of rainfall, accompanied by short-term intense precipitation, thunderstorms and gale-force winds.

Several areas reported record-breaking rainfall during the latest weather round. In Jingzhou, central China's Hubei Province, hourly rainfall reached 71.7 mm while minute-level rainfall intensity hit 90 mm, surpassing local records dating back to 1953. The city activated emergency measures to address severe urban flooding, suspending work, classes and transportation in some areas.

In Shimen County, central China's Hunan Province, 24-hour rainfall reached 339.2 mm between Saturday and Sunday, also exceeding historical extremes.

Meteorological authorities said many parts of the country had seen above-average rainfall over the past 10 days, with some areas recording more than 200 mm of precipitation.

Zhang Tao, chief forecaster at the NMC, said the latest rainfall process showed different characteristics in northern and southern China. Southern regions were mainly affected by localized convective storms with sudden and intense rainfall, while northern regions experienced longer-lasting and relatively stable rainfall.

He also noted that some parts of northern China were expected to see unusually heavy rainfall for this time of year.

Xu Xiaofeng, president of the China Meteorological Service Association, said extreme weather, especially extreme heat, has become more frequent in recent years, while heavy rainfall and other extreme events have at times become more common.

He said that even small temperature changes could affect precipitation patterns due to the complexity and instability of atmospheric systems.

Xu also said recurring El Niño events in recent years may have made weather patterns harder to predict and could affect rainfall distribution, especially in southern China, where persistent heavy rainfall may increase disaster risks.

In response to the latest rainstorms, China's Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday activated a Level-IV emergency response for flood prevention in seven provincial-level regions, including Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi.

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters described the current weather process as the strongest rainfall event since the country entered this year's flood season.