Beijing soars above 40 deg Celsius, smashes June record

People shield themselves with umbrellas and face masks from the sun amid an orange alert for heatwave in Beijing on June 22, 2023. - Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters): The temperature in Beijing soared above 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday (June 22) for the first time since 2014 and broke the record for the hottest day in June, with heatwaves that had seared northern China a week earlier expected to persist through the weekend.

A weather station in the city's southern suburbs considered to be Beijing's main gauge recorded 40.7 deg C (105.3 Fahrenheit) at 2:30pm (0630 GMT), according to the municipal weather bureau, the first breach of the 40 deg C threshold since May 29, 2014.