There is forecast of rain in the eastern parts of Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins, and most parts of South China on Friday.

Heavy fog in southwest China and strong gales on the Yellow Sea and East China Sea will have "an adverse impact on Spring Festival transport", the NMC said.

Fog, mist and haze are forecast in most parts of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guangxi in the next two days, with visibility in some areas decreasing to less than 1,000 meters.

Rain will also alleviate droughts in east Tibet Autonomous Region and areas along the Yellow River and Huaihe River, it said.

Light to moderate snowfall is expected in some sections of Urumqi-Changji-Shihezi expressway in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the following days, the NMC said.

Fog will affect the main sections of some expressways, including the Zizhong-Neijiang expressway in Sichuan and the Yuxi-Eshan expressway in Yunnan.

The weather in most parts of China will be relatively calm the following week. Temperatures in most northern areas will gradually climb, it said, adding that the average temperature in most parts of the country now is higher than in the previous few years.

Traffic officials should fully prepare for rainfalls, which are likely to affect transport when millions of Chinese will be returning to major cities after the New Year holidays, meteorologists said.

The country's railways carried more than 75 million passengers between January 11 and January 27, a 17 percent increase from a year earlier, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.

The ministry has ordered additional transport capacity in provinces and municipalities like Sichuan, Chongqing and Jiangxi, which are home to the largest number of migrant workers in the country, to brace up for the post-holiday rush.

More than 114 million people traveled by road between January 25 and January 28, up 5.4 percent from the same period last year.

Short trips accounted for 80 percent of the total number of trips in the first four days of the seven-day Spring Festival break, the ministry said.

The 40-day travel rush is expected to last till February 19.

Transport authorities estimate there would be 2.32 billion trips made during the period, a 5 percent rise from last year.

The railways are expected to transport 188 million passengers this season, up 8 percent year-on-year.

Beijing West Railway Station, Shanghai Station and Guangzhou Station, three of the busiest railway stations in China, witnessed 249,000, 206,000, and 149,000 passengers on January 23 alone.

(China Daily January 30, 2009)