BEIJING - China's meteorologists issued a yellow rain alert for the next 24 hours in parts of the south on Saturday.

Torrential rains of up to 180 mm will hit southern provinces including Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Zhejiang, with gales and thunderstorms in some areas, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

The NMC advised local governments to take emergency responding measures and prepare for waterlogging in cities and landslides in mountainous areas.

A four-tier color-coded warning system is used to judge the severity of rain, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.