BEIJING - Chinese authorities on Monday warned that eight provinces in South China are at risk for forest fires due to lingering dry weather.

The national forest fire prevention headquarters under the State Forestry Administration issued an orange alert for forest fires in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Orange is the second-highest level in China's four-tier color-coded fire warning system.

The provinces have seen little rainfall and warm weather in recent days. Precipitation in some parts of South China has been reduced by 50 to 80 percent compared with previous years and temperatures have gone up by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius, the headquarters said.

A lingering drought has maintained its grip on east and south Sichuan, as well as southwest Guizhou and most parts of Yunnan, leading to frequent forest fires, according to the headquarters.

The headquarters has ordered local authorities to step up monitoring and patrols to guard against possible fires, as well as create better emergency plans.

Meteorological authorities have forecast little precipitation in the region for the next three days.