China is facing a summer of contrasts this year with heatwaves alternating with heavy rains wreaking havoc on the country.
Dozens of Chinese cities are being hit by a heatwave that has caused roofs to melt, parts of the roadway to bend in some areas and residents to seek coolness in underground war shelters.
By 6am today 68 cities, including Shanghai and Nanjing, had issued a red alert, the highest level in a three-tier heat warning system, forecasting temperatures to exceed 40 degrees Celsius for the next 24 hours .
Shanghai, still struggling to contain sporadic outbreaks of the coronavirus, has warned its 25 million residents to brace for high temperatures this week.
As temperature soars in many parts of China, a #zoo in #Jinan City of E China’s Shandong Province provided extra “services” for the animals to help them beat the heat, including spraying cold water and providing ice fruit bowls… (CGTN/Photo via VCG) pic.twitter.com/H9mHuKHzwM
— Chinese Embassy in Switzerland (@ChinaEmbinCH) June 21, 2022
Since records began to be kept in 1873, Shanghai has experienced just 15 days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.
A photo widely circulated on social media shows a health worker in a full protective suit for carrying out coronavirus diagnostic tests hugging a metre-high pillar of ice on the side of the road.
At a huge wildlife park in Shanghai staff had to consume eight tonnes of ice a day to keep the animals cool.
China students given ice blocks to beat the heat: https://t.co/JdvcJVu5zA Jo pic.twitter.com/WFuatjG5Rn
— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) July 5, 2016
The three furnaces
China is facing a summer of contrasts this year with heatwaves alternating with heavy rains wreaking havoc on the country.
Authorities, citing climate change, have warned of possible extreme weather from mid-July, traditionally the hottest and wettest time of the year.
In a city in southern China’s Jiangxi province, a section of road swelled at least 15cm due to the heat, footage shown on state television showed.
Nanjing, one of China’s three “stoves” famous for its hot summers, has opened its underground war shelters to citizens since Sunday, which are equipped with WiFi, books, coolers and even microwave ovens. Today the city issued a red alert.
In Chongqing, the second “fireplace”, the roof of one of the city’s museums literally melted with the tiles of a traditional Chinese roof sticking out as the heat melted the material used as a base.
Yesterday the city issued a red alert.
Chongqing, in southwest China, has deployed water tankers that pour water onto the streets to keep them cool.
This week high temperatures, humidity and infrared radiation are expected to surround the central Chinese city of Wuhan, which is considered to be the country’s third most affected by the heat wave.
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