A remote city in arid northwest China recorded temperatures of more than 52 degrees Celsius on Sunday, according to state media, a record for the country, which only six months ago was battling temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius.

The mercury in Shanbao city in Xinjiang’s Turpan soared to as high as 52.2 degrees Celsius yesterday, the state-run Xinjiang Daily reported today, with the record heat expected to persist for at least another five days.

This temperature recorded yesterday breaks the previous record of 50.3 degrees Celsius, which was set in 2015 near Eiding in a large basin of sand dunes and waterless lakes more than 150 meters below sea level.

Since April, countries in Asia have been hit by several record heat waves, raising concerns about their ability to adapt to the rapidly changing climate. According to climate experts, the achievement of the goal of keeping the global temperature increase within the limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the long term is moving away.

Prolonged periods of high temperatures in China have put pressure on power grids and crops and are raising concerns about a possible repeat of last year’s drought, which was the worst in 60 years.

It is not the first time China has experienced large fluctuations in temperatures as the seasons change, but they are becoming larger.

On January 22, temperatures in Mohe, a city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, fell to -53 degrees Celsius, according to the local meteorological agency, breaking China’s previous all-time record of -52.3 degrees Celsius set in 1969.

Since then, the heaviest rainfall in a decade has hit central China, destroying wheat fields in an area known as the country’s breadbasket.

This week the US and China are looking to rekindle efforts to combat global warming as US Climate Special Envoy John Kerry is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua.