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Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong in northern and eastern China were hit by wide-spread heatwaves, with the national weather bureau issuing an alert for heat stroke, almost a fortnight earlier than in previous years.
The temperature in China’s capital city of Beijing jumped above 41 degrees Celsius on Thursday, hitting a new record for June. The city on Friday upgraded its warning for high temperature to “red” – the highest in a colour-coded alert system – saying most parts of the city could roast in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius in June 23 – 25.
A weather station in the southern suburbs, considered to be Beijing’s main gauge, recorded 41.1C (106 Fahrenheit) at 3:19 pm (0719 GMT), according to the official Beijing Daily. The previous June high was logged on June 10, 1961, when the mercury hit 40.6C. The 41.1C was the city’s second-highest in history. The warmest temperature was 41.9C on July 24, 1999.
In Tianjin city, the temperature in the urban district reached 41.2C on Thursday, smashing local records.
Beijing recorded 7.9 days of high temperature in the first 22 days of June, marking the most for the same period since the record started in 1961, said the China Meteorological Administration at a press conference on Friday.
The neighbouring Hebei province recorded 7.8 days of high temperature during the same period, the second-most on record, while Tianjin city recorded 6.1 days, the third-most on record, said the administration.
So far in June, northern China recorded 6.4 days of hot weather, 3.1 days more than the same period in previous years and marking the fifth-most on record, after that in 1972, 1968, 2005 and 2022, it said.