Shanghai among most affected as temperatures reach record high

Source:Global Times Published: 2013-8-6 19:43:01

People cool off at a pool at the Cool Docks in Shanghai on Sunday. Photo: CFP

People cool off at a pool at the Cool Docks in Shanghai on Sunday. Photo: CFP



 
Authorities in Tonglu, Zhejiang Province launch a rocket in a bid to trigger rain on August 1, after seeing a 90 percent drop in rainfall. Photo: CFP

Authorities in Tonglu, Zhejiang Province launch a rocket in a bid to trigger rain on August 1, after seeing a 90 percent drop in rainfall. Photo: CFP



 
A polar bear eats watermelon at a zoo in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province on Monday. Photo: CFP

A polar bear eats watermelon at a zoo in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province on Monday. Photo: CFP



 
A tourist tries to gain a measure of protection from the heat near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Monday. Photo: CFP

A tourist tries to gain a measure of protection from the heat near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Monday. Photo: CFP



 
People swarm a rafting resort in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on Saturday. Photo: CFP

People swarm a rafting resort in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on Saturday. Photo: CFP



Still sweltering under a heat wave, China has seen the thermometer remain high since mid-June. The temperature has soared in many provinces and regions of the country, a phenomenon unseen for decades in southern and eastern China.

From Tuesday to Thursday, a strong heat wave scorched its way across eight southern provinces and municipalities, namely Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei provinces as well as the municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing.

The highest temperature in these regions will reach 41 C, according to the national weather service.

Hangzhou, in East China's Zhejiang Province,was hit by 40.6 C Tuesday, the highest temperature since records began in 1951. The mercury in Shanghai also soared to 40.6 on Tuesday, the same level with July 27 when the temperature broke a 140-year-old record.

Facing such severe conditions, a level-two emergency response has been issued by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the highest of its kind and usually reserved for typhoons.

The heat has also taken its toll economically. With crops and livestock in serious trouble, the prices of vegetables, eggs and pork have increased, with other rises expected in the days ahead. In northern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the continuous heat has seen a decrease in the output of sugarcane, a bumper crop for the region, which has also pushed up prices. 

Drinking water has become scarce. The city of Huaihua in Hunan has seen many of its rivers run dry, with water being transported in from elsewhere. In Zhejiang, some enterprises are experiencing difficulties due to the power supply being rationed amid the sweltering streak.

At noon on July 30 in downtown Shanghai, a reporter put a rasher of raw bacon in a pan and placed it in the road. The bacon was cooked after 80 minutes. The highest surface temperature on the asphalt reached 60 C, according to Xinhua.

But sadly, the heat wave has also claimed the lives of at least 10 people in Shanghai.

In Nanjing, the city's air-conditioned subway stations have also become a source of much-needed relief for locals, with hundreds massing on platforms to enjoy a blast of cool air.

In Loudi, Hunan Province, a woman surnamed Xie found that several eggs were marked with the shape of half-hatched chicks.

But no relief appears to be in immediate sight with temperatures expected to hover in the high 30s through the middle of August.



Posted in: In-Depth

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