Cities across China were on heatwave alert on Monday, as tens of millions of people were warned to stay indoors and record temperatures strained energy supplies.
Extreme and deadly heatwaves have swept across much of the planet in recent months, from western Europe in July to India in March-April.
Scientists say extreme weather has become more frequent due to climate change and is likely to intensify as global temperatures continue to rise.
China is no exception, sweating through one of the hottest summers on record.
In eastern Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, mercury rose to over 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend, hitting all-time highs in two cities.
People in red-heat alert areas — mainly in the southeast and northwest — are being told to “cease all outdoor activities” and “pay particular attention to fire safety,” the national weather service said in multiple notices over the weekend.
Saturday marked the “Great Heat” day in China’s traditional calendar, long thought to be the hottest time of the year, but this summer has been exceptionally warm.
Earlier this month, Shanghai recorded 40.9°C, the highest air temperature since records began in 1873.
The scorching heat sent hundreds of people to the beach in Fujian’s city of Xiamen on Sunday, while others hid from the sun under hats and face coverings.
China’s power grid is also suffering from the strain of increased demand for air conditioning, with the country’s biggest power plants generating electricity at a record rate in mid-July, according to energy industry publication Sxcoal.
Some local governments turned off streetlights this month and increased electricity tariffs for peak-time factories.
The ongoing heatwave, which has hit the lower reaches of the Yangtze River particularly hard, will also “have an adverse effect on local crops,” warned Fu Jiaolan, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Center.
#China #seethes #record #heat
