SHANGHAI: Shanghai issued its highest heatwave alert for the second time this week, forecasting that temperatures in parts of the Pudong district will exceed 40 deg Celsius.
The city of about 25 million people, one of China’s vital hubs for commerce and shipping, issued its first red heat alert of the year on Thursday (Aug 1), after temperatures in the centre of Shanghai hit 40 deg C, according to the weather bureau.
The Shanghai Pudong New Area meteorological bureau released a statement on Saturday (Aug 3) at around noon with the latest disaster weather warning for parts of the Pudong district.
Shanghai’s highest-ever temperature was 40.9 deg C, recorded in 1873 and repeated two years ago, according to the weather bureau.
The authorities have urged businesses and citizens to take precautionary measures, including fire prevention.
As part of its efforts to ensure power supplies at a time of rocketing air-conditioning demand, Shanghai’s government has ordered landscape lighting in the metropolis to be switched off an hour early.
China’s eastern, central and western regions have been struck by extreme weather conditions this summer, believed to be caused by climate change.
The Chinese government has stepped up disaster relief efforts after heavy rains lashed different parts of the country in recent weeks, killing dozens of people and displacing thousands, damaging infrastructure, and threatening industrial and agricultural production. - Bloomberg
