Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Meteorologists warned that China will see more heatwaves over the next 10 days, with high temperatures an...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Meteorologists warned that China will see more heatwaves over the next 10 days, with high temperatures anticipated from the east to the west. Some cities issued the strongest warning on Friday.
As early as this coming Saturday, temperatures are predicted to rise sharply before escalating into heatwaves, which are characterised as periods of very hot weather lasting three days or longer. The Chinese Almanac, which uses the conventional lunar calendar, refers to this Saturday as the "great heat" day.
The hot spell is anticipated to have a similar geographic reach as the heatwaves from July 5–17, but more areas may see temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) or greater, according to Fu Jiaolan, the center's chief forecaster, who spoke to state media on Thursday.
Red alerts, the highest level in a three-tier warning system, were issued on Friday in some cities in Zhejiang province, which is home to major industries and exporters in China. Red alerts indicate that temperatures will reach at least 40 degrees C (104 F) during the next 24 hours.
The Ministry of Emergency Management warned on Friday that the load on the national electricity grid is anticipated to increase to a new high in the summer and that safe operation would be put to "severe testing."
According to the ministry, Zhejiang, along with portions of Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Chongqing, are at risk for forest fires in the near future.
Chinese weather observers have characterised this summer's heat as exceptional, driving up demand for air conditioning in homes, workplaces, and factories as well as record-high loads on electricity networks across more than a dozen provinces.
Parts of the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins, which are important centres of industry and commerce, saw at least 10 days with temperatures above normal from June 1 to July 20.
Other regions of East Asia, Western Europe, North Africa, and North America have all been burned by heatwaves since June, igniting wildfires in numerous nations.
Scientists warn that heatwaves will only become hotter and more common as a result of climate change.
There is some controversy over the highest temperature ever recorded in China.
According to Chinese media, the Qing dynasty's July 1743 was the warmest month in the past 300 years, with a French missionary in Beijing allegedly recording an all-time high temperature of 44.4C.
One of the hottest regions in China during the summer, the Turpan Depression, has a meteorological station next to Ayding, a dry lake, that recorded 50.3C in 2015.
