Beijing: Abnormal heatwave that has engulfed several provinces in China has broken the historic record since the begging of regular meteorological observations in the country in 1961, the national meteorological administration said on Wednesday. “Comprehensive studies show that this regional phenomenon with high temperatures and abnormal heat in our country will continue and its intensity will increase,” the statement read.
As of August 15, abnormal heat was registered for 64 days in China, with the previous record being 62 days in 2013. Meteorologists have collected the data from 1,680 weather stations that recorded temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and 1,426 stations that recorded temperatures above 37 degrees Celsius. A total of 262 stations recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, which is also a record high since only 187 stations registered such temperatures in 2013. A weather station in Zhushan County in China’s northwestern Hubei province registered a temperature of 44.6 degrees Celsius.
The southeast municipality of Chongqing hit 44.5 degrees Celsius, Lingshou County of the northern Hebei province at 44.2 degrees Celsius, and the southwest Yunnan province at 44 degrees Celsius. In the period from June 1 to August 15, the national average number of days with high temperatures was 12, which is 5.1 days more than recorded in the same period in the years without abnormally hot weather. In some regions of the country, the heat is forecast to last for another seven to 10 days.
