China is groaning under a severe heat wave. The weather agency issued the highest warning level for Beijing and other parts of the country. Experts see climate change as the cause of the unusually high temperatures.
Due to the persistent heat with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, China has declared the highest alert level for northern and eastern parts of the country, including the capital Beijing. The warning also applies to the metropolis of Tianjin and the coastal regions of Hebei and Shandong.
This is the first time since the city’s weather bureau was established in 1951 that a high temperature of more than 40 degrees has been recorded for two days in a row, said the agency’s chief meteorologist Zhang Yingxin. On Thursday, a new heat record for June of 41.1 degrees was measured in the metropolis with almost 22 million inhabitants. The previous June high was on June 10, 1961, when 40.6 degrees were reached.
Electricity suppliers are sounding the alarm
According to the weather service, 43 degrees were even measured in Shandong province. The thermometers also showed record values in 17 other weather stations in the region, as reported by local media.
The heatwave in north and east China is forecast to last at least eight more days. Scientists assume that the unusually high temperatures of the past few months are effects of climate change.
Electricity suppliers have recently sounded the alarm because of the heat wave: Since many air conditioning systems were running at full speed, power consumption was driven to critical heights.