Higher temperatures have eased the ice situation at the mouth of the Yellow River, China's second longest river, the local flood control office reported Tuesday.

Below freezing temperatures saw the frozen section in the lower reaches of the river stretch to a dozen kilometers on Monday morning, according to the Yellow River Flood Control Office of Shandong Province.

But higher temperatures Tuesday reduced the ice downstream of Dongying City.

Blocks of ice averaging 15 square meters piled up near the river mouth and then flowed into the sea.

Despite the freeze upstream, the river is flowing steadily at 300 cubic meters per second or less in the lower reaches, making a serious ice run unlikely.

Experts said the river's three-month ice run, from December to February, occurs when the temperature falls below minus 10 degrees Celsius.

The lower reaches of the river experienced ice runs in late December last year.

Local flood control officials said they were prepared for embankment patrols, rescue operations and ice bombardments.

Sections of the Yellow River freeze and thaw at different periods. When the water from a thawed section flows to a frozen section, it may be blocked by ice.

If the ice blockage resists, water levels may rise and cause flooding and even burst dams, threatening life and property.

The 5,464-km Yellow River, popularly known as China's Mother river, starts in Qinghai Province in the northwest and flows through Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan, before passing through Shandong and emptying into the Bohai Sea.

Source: Xinhua