China evacuates 20,000 people as Typhoon Noul nears

Authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 people and suspended railway services in southern China as approaching Typhoon Noul threatens torrential rain and gale-force winds, according to state media.

The typhoon is forecast to make landfall in the coastal area stretching from Hong Kong to Guangdong province between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, China's National Meteorological Center said.

It maintained an orange typhoon alert on Saturday, the second-highest level in its four-tier system, after warning that parts of Guangdong and neighbouring Fujian province would experience gales and torrential rain.

More than 20,000 people had been evacuated in Guangdong, state broadcaster CCTV said in a bulletin late Friday.

Fishing vessels operating at sea in the province had returned to ports to "shelter from the storm", it added.

Guangdong will suspend some train services Saturday morning, with all train services in the province halted on Sunday, CCTV said.

Schools in Guangdong's Chaozhou city were instructed to suspend on-campus activities, according to local media reports.

Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this month, with 39 people killed when Typhoon Maysak triggered devastating floods in Guangxi.

Maysak also caused thunderstorms and gale-force winds that killed 11 people and injured 331 in the central province of Hubei.

Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.

China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon-neutral by 2060.