The drought in central Fujian province will continue and is likely to worsen this week, as sunny days with high temperatures are forecast to last all week, the provincial meteorological bureau said on Wednesday.

It is unusual for Fujian, a province in southeastern China, to endure a drought at this time of year, which is normally the rainy season.

Rainfall in Fujian in the first half of April was 40 percent less than the average level, which is also the sixth driest in history. Medium droughts have hit seven cities and counties -- Pingtan, Changle, Putian, Xianyou, Huian, Jiangjiang, Yongtai, with no rain in over a month.

In Fuzhou, the capital city, only 6.9 mm of precipitation came down from April 1 to 14, down by nearly 90 percent from normal levels in past years. The situation will become worse as sunny weather is expected throughout the week.

Experts attributed the dry weather to weakened cold air from the north and a particularly overwhelming subtropical high hovering above South China.

The lingering drought will impact agricultural production, and local governments should prepare for artificial precipitation, the weather bureau said.