Two men do breaststroke on the ground to celebrate the rain that ends the heat wave in Jinghong, Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Photo: Screenshot of Pear Video

A powerful storm in Southwest China's Yunnan Province that knocked down trees and powerlines also led to unusual celebrations after a month of hot, rainless days. 

A Pear Video shows two men from Jinghong, Yunnan laying sprawled in a few centimeters of rain in a concrete yard, doing the breaststroke in the heavy rain on Wednesday. They are seen laughing and rollicking in the deluge of rain, which ended the heatwave that had persisted since March.

A number of video clips also show fierce winds bending palm trees nearly in half, while rains caused some local flooding.  

A succession of high temperatures alerts had been issued prior to the rain. Since mid-May, many parts of the province have experienced temperatures above 40 C, which forced some local schools to suspend classes. 

Crops also suffered during the heatwave, which also created dangerous fire conditions in some regions.