China renews orange alert for high temperatures

Beijing, July 6

China's National Meteorological Centre on Thursday renewed an orange alert, the second-highest alert, for high temperatures as multiple regions of the country continue to reel under a scorching heat wave.

During daylight hours on Thursday, temperatures in parts of north China, sections of the Yellow River and Huaihe River, regions south of the Yangtze River, south China, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Shaanxi are forecast to exceed 35 degrees Celsius, Xinhua news agency quoted the Centre as saying.

In some areas of Beijing, Hebei, and Henan, temperatures may surpass 40 degrees Celsius.

The heat wave is forecast to linger in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, and Henan until July 10, the Centre said.

China has a three-tier, colour-coded warning system for high temperatures, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange and yellow.

On June 25, the country had issued this year's first orange alert.

The temperature at a meteorological station in southern Beijing soared to 41.1 degrees Celsius on June 22 -- the second-highest reading since reliable records began, according to the Beijing Meteorological Service.

The highest temperature ever recorded at the Nanjiao station was 41.9 degrees Celsius on July 24, 1999.