BEIJING, April 20 -- Rainfall will linger in south China, especially the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, for the rest of this month, the country's meteorological authorities said Sunday.

Downpours will hit the areas including southwest and central China's Chongqing, Hubei and Hunan Sunday, and heavy rainfall will expand to cover the southern regions of the Yangtze River in the next 24 hours, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast.

The NMC officials warned of adverse impacts on agricultural production from ceaseless rainfall and lack of sunshine.

Meanwhile, parts of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Shandong and Hebei provinces will see dense fog on Sunday morning, with the visibility reduced to less than 200 meters in some areas.