BEIJING - Rainfall in the coming two days will help ease a persistent drought which plagued China's southwestern regions, the National Meteorological Center said on Saturday.

Small rains will shower southern parts of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces on Saturday and Sunday, while some regions in Yunnan will expect moderate rains, which will help alleviate the drought, the observatory said.

As of Friday, a dry spell has left 7.82 million people short of drinking water nationwide, with 6.3 million of them in Yunnan, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The drought also affected 60.1 million mu (about 4 million hectares) of farmland, the flood and drought prevention office said.

Meanwhile, regions in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning and Jilin provinces in the northeast will be shrouded by dusty weather during the weekend, it said.

A strong cold front, starting to sweep China from west to east from Monday, will drag down thermometers in most parts of the country.