Beijing raises heat alert to highest level

The Chinese capital has raised its heat alert to red, the highest in a four-tier system, as it braces for a severe heatwave.

Beijing authorities said today that most areas of the capital could experience temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius. Officials warned that prolonged periods of high temperatures could have health effects, such as increasing the risk of stroke. They advised people to drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day, as well as limit outdoor time.

Beijing experienced its highest June temperature on June 22, when a meteorological station in the southern suburbs, considered the capital’s most accurate temperature gauge, recorded 41.1 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. The previous high for June was recorded on June 10, 1961, when the temperature reached 40.6 degrees Celsius.

This figure is also second only to the highest temperature ever recorded in Beijing, which was 41.9 degrees Celsius in July 1999.

Along Beijing's canals, people cooled off by swimming and playing in the water. Nationwide, some 17 weather stations "recorded record high temperatures" on June 22, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

A woman uses a fan as she walks on a street in Beijing on June 21. Photo: AFP

"It's never been this hot in June, but now it's so hot that my hands are shaking," one Weibo user wrote. "Are there three suns shining on Beijing?" another asked.

High temperatures will persist in much of the country's north for the next eight to 10 days, with high temperature monitoring and warnings continuing in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Inner Mongolia, according to the NMC.

In Tianjin, a northern Chinese port city with a population of more than 13 million, temperatures on June 22 reached 41.2 degrees Celsius, a record high.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Red is used when temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

Scientists say rising global temperatures, driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels, are exacerbating extreme weather patterns around the world. Many Asian countries have experienced deadly heatwaves and record temperatures in recent weeks.

Huyen Le (According to Reuters, AFP )

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