Shenzhen, Aug. 14 (BUS): Several regions in China, including the main city of Chongqing in southwest China, baked in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Saturday, while the country’s National Observatory continued to be on high alert for extreme heat.
In Zhejiang, home to many factories and exporters, the eastern province has broken the previous record for days of high temperatures this year, with 31 days above 35 degrees Celsius and 16 days above 38 degrees Celsius, Reuters reported.
Besides Chongqing, which saw temperatures as high as 42.1 degrees Celsius on Saturday, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong, Anhui, Xinjiang, Jiangxi and Fujian were among the provinces and regions where temperatures exceeded 35 degrees Celsius.
A thunderstorm appears to have helped Shanghai avoid breaking the record 40.9C on Saturday, although residents of the mall of 25 million people still expressed tiredness from the ongoing heat wave.
“It’s like being in a steamer, it’s really hot,” said Shen Fengming, a 70-year-old resident. “Even if you don’t walk outside, you’ll end up sweating.”
“I went to our port and wandered around,” said Huang Yi, a 45-year-old who works at a container port. “It was only an hour, but my clothes and pants were completely wet. Compared to previous years, this year the temperature was especially high.”
The Shanghai Meteorological Observatory reported on Saturday that the city has seen 40 days with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius this year, peaking so far on July 13 at 40.9 degrees.
China’s Meteorological Bureau warned last week that average global temperatures in the country have risen much faster than the global average over the past 70 years and will remain “significantly higher” in the future as climate change challenges mount.
Large parts of Europe have seen weeks of sweltering temperatures, with bushfires raging in France and parts of England facing severe drought, as successive heat waves renew focus on the dangers of climate change.
MI