Beijing on Tuesday broke a 23-year-old record of having a maximum temperature above 35 for 27 consecutive days.
Beijing:
Beijingers endured a blistering heat wave on Wednesday as China’s capital continued a record-breaking run of temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) for four weeks.
Extreme temperatures forced delivery drivers to take shelter under bridges, residents covered their faces and arms with protective clothing and tourists grabbed mini electric fans outside the famous Forbidden City.
“At noon, it feels like the sun is scorching my feet, it feels like my skin is burning,” said Qiu Yichong, a 22-year-old graduate student who came to Beijing during her summer vacation.
Large parts of Asia, Europe and North America have experienced deadly heatwaves in recent weeks, a condition scientists say has been exacerbated partly by rising global temperatures from the burning of fossil fuels.
Beijing broke a 23-year-old record for 27 consecutive days of temperatures above 35C on Tuesday, the China Meteorological Administration said.
The temperature in the southern suburbs recorded by Beijing’s benchmark weather center also rose to 36.3C (97.3F) on Wednesday afternoon.
“It looks like this year is hotter than ever,” delivery driver Han Weili told AFP.
“When I go out every day, I take a bottle of ice water and try to stay hydrated to avoid heatstroke,” she said.
Han, 38, is the main earning member of her family as her husband had a brain haemorrhage last year and had to leave work.
“Sometimes when it’s very hot, I get a little confused or dizzy,” she said, adding that she rests “by the river or under the bridge” or works in the evenings when it’s cooler.
Her income depends on the number of deliveries she makes and she says there is no allowance for working in high temperature conditions.
– ‘stay indoors’ –
Hundreds of visitors were seen queuing outside the historic Forbidden City, children carrying small, portable blowers to keep them cool.
In the narrow streets of old neighborhoods in central Beijing, elderly men sat topless or pulled up their undershirts and fanned themselves to beat the heat.
Due to the scorching heat, the level of air pollution also increased.
The Beijing government has urged the elderly to stay indoors and children to reduce the time they play outside to reduce exposure to the heat and ground-level ozone pollution, a major component of the smog that envelops the city.
Li Yong, a security guard, said, “I work from 7 in the morning until 7 in the evening… The first few days (of the heatwave) I used to sleep all the time.”
“I just drink more water and find a shady place to stand,” the 57-year-old said.
According to utility providers, people are turning on air conditioning in offices, homes and restaurants to stay cool, leading to an increase in energy demand.
This creates a vicious cycle in which more fossil fuels are burned, contributing to the warming of the planet.
But air conditioning is a luxury for some in China’s capital.
Lee said, “I only have one fan where I live.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)