BEIJING - China's national observatory on Monday issued an orange alert for drought as scorching heatwaves sweep through vast parts of the country.

Parts of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Tibet have experienced moderate to severe droughts, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Dry weather will continue in most of the aforementioned regions over the next three days, it said.

The observatory advised these regions to take measures to ensure the supply of water and produce artificial rainfall when necessary.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.