On red alert is Beijing today due to extreme heat affecting much of northern China.

The temperature is closing in on them 40 degrees Celsiusy, mainly in Beijing where yesterday, Thursday, the record for the hottest day in June was broken.

The particularly high temperatures in summer it is not an uncommon phenomenon in China, mainly in the southern and western parts of the country.

Beijingers are also used to the heat at this time of year. But the country is faced in the last months with extreme weather events and unusual temperatures, phenomena that are intensifying due to climate change, according to scientists.

This morning a red alert—the highest level—was issued for 185 regions in northern and eastern China, including the capital, Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei and Shandong.

China has a four-tier warning system, with the “red” level being the highest, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

It is the first time since 2014 that a red alert has been issued for Beijing, where temperatures could again reach 40 degrees Celsius today, according to the weather service.

Yesterday, Thursday, a temperature was recorded in the Chinese capital 41.1 degrees Celsius, the hottest June day since 1961 when records were kept. On the streets of Beijing today, residents wore masks and hats to protect themselves from the sun.

In the coastal province of Shandong, washed by the Yellow Sea, the temperature it reached 43 degrees locally yesterday.

According to local media, 17 weather stations in China recorded record temperatures.

The strong heat wave is expected to persist in northern and eastern China for at least eight days, the weather service warned today.

EM