Cool break: A girl playing in a fountain at a shopping mall in Beijing amid a recent red alert issued as temperatures rose. — AP
BEIJING: Beijing upgraded its warning for hot weather to “red” – the highest in a colour-coded alert system – with many parts of the Chinese capital roasting in temperatures of up to 40ºC.
The temperature for the capital, which is measured from its southern suburbs observatory, hit 40ºC just after 1.30pm yesterday, according to the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Observatory.
“This is the first time since the establishment of the observatory that there a temperature of more than 40ºC has been recorded for two consecutive days,” Zhang Yingxin, chief forecaster of the Municipal Meteorological Observatory, said. The observatory was founded in 1951.
On Thursday, the maximum temperature in the city of nearly 22 million people breached 41ºC and shattered the record for the hottest day in June.
A weather station in its southern suburbs, considered to be Beijing’s main gauge, recorded 41.1ºC in the afternoon.
The daily maximum logged on Thursday was the city’s second-highest in history, just below the 41.9ºC recorded by Beijing on July 24, 1999.
China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. A red alert indicates the temperature is set to rise above 40ºC within 24 hours.
The China Meteorological Administration said it expected high temperatures to persist across the north for eight to ten days.
Authorities yesterday warned the high temperatures could have health impacts, including an increased risk of heatstroke, and advised people to drink at least 1.5l of water daily and limit outdoor activity. — Reuters
