Flooded China warns of heat, drought - and snow?

BEIJING (Reuters) - China, where more than 700 people have been killed in floods so far this summer, has now warned of the dangers of heatstroke and drought and said lightning killed a record 141 people last month.

And a bizarre report in the national English-language China Daily on Thursday said the high temperatures increased the chances of sleet and snow.

The heatstroke warning from the Central Meteorological Station and the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said people in the south, east and northwest would be in danger on Thursday and suggested they avoid exposure to sunlight.

Severe drought in parts of China has left 7.53 million people short of drinking water, according to the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The hardest-hit regions were the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin in the northeast, Inner Mongolia in the north and Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangxi in the south.

"In Jiangxi, where more than 1 million people face drinking water shortages, 47 counties have carried out a total of 335 artificial rainfall operations, bringing almost 500 million cubic metres of rain," Xinhua news agency said.

Drought has also caused drinking water shortages for 380,000 people in southern Guangdong.

In Heilongjiang province, a major grain base, the local meteorological station warned parts of the province may experience a once-in-50-years drought as no significant rainfall is forecast for the next week.

Other province had suffered weeks of severe flooding with landslides, mudflows and lightning killing more than 700 people nationwide.