Chinese weather officials said on Thursday that July was the country’s hottest month since records began six decades ago, as extreme temperatures continued to hit around the world.
China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are fueling climate change and making extreme weather more frequent and intense.
Heat waves have scorched parts of northern China this summer, while torrential rains have triggered floods and landslides in central and southern regions.
The national weather office said on Thursday that last month was “the warmest July since full observations began in 1961, and the warmest month in the history of observations”.
It said the average air temperature in China in July was 23.21 degrees Celsius (73.78 degrees Fahrenheit), higher than the previous record of 23.17 degrees Celsius (73.71 degrees Fahrenheit) in 2017.
The weather department said the average temperature in every province was “higher than the average of previous years”, with the southwestern provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan having the highest average temperatures.
It forecast that temperatures will continue to rise this week in eastern regions, including Shanghai, where a red alert for extreme heat was issued on Thursday.
“The situation will be the same next week. It’s like being on an iron plate,” wrote a user on the Weibo social media platform in response to the megacity’s heat warning.
“It’s so hot. Has Shanghai done something to anger the gods?” another joked.
The weather department said temperatures in the nearby city of Hangzhou could reach 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, breaking an all-time record.
It said the daily temperature in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will not fall below 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
As a result, people should “not let up on their efforts to escape the heat and stay cool”.
Excessive heat
The report comes less than a week after Earth experienced its hottest day in history.
Preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service showed the daily global average temperature on July 22 was 17.15C (62.9F).
This was 0.06 degrees Celsius higher than the previous day, breaking the all-time high temperature recorded a year ago by a narrow margin.
China has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2060, but has resisted calls to take bolder steps.
It long relied on highly polluting coal power to power its vast economy, but in recent years it has emerged as a leader in renewable energy.
Research last month showed that China is building almost twice as much wind and solar power capacity as all other countries combined.
Extreme weather has caused deadly natural disasters across large parts of the country over the past few weeks.
At least seven people were killed due to heavy rains and floods in central Hunan province, state media reported on Tuesday.
The heavy rainfall was caused by the remnants of Typhoon Gaemi, which struck eastern China last week.
A landslide in Hunan on Sunday destroyed a guesthouse and killed 15 people, while a dam burst elsewhere in the province forced about 4,000 residents to evacuate.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
