China Shatters Records in Historic Heat Wave

By: Nick Wiltgen

Published: July 31,2013

 

 

 

 

1 / 22

Shanghai, China

A man (left) buys a fan from a vendor to combat the heat in Shanghai on July 2, 2013, when the city's high reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit. (PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Hundreds of millions of Chinese residents are sweating out an exceptional heat wave, with major cities such as Shanghai recording new all-time record high temperatures.
Weather historian Christopher C. Burt of Weather Underground reports that Shanghai, China's largest city, has broken its all-time record high in records reaching back to 1873, reaching 105.1ºF on July 26. The misery has been compounded by brutally warm nights; the city's low July 30 only dipped to 88ºF, with the heat index dropping no lower than 99ºF.
Shanghai, where average July highs are in the mid 80s to low 90s, hit the century mark 14 different days in July, including the last nine days in a row.
China's Xinhua news agency reported at least 10 deaths from heat stroke in Shanghai alone as of July 30.
Burt said a swath of provinces in the east-central part of the country have taken the brunt of the prolonged heat wave, likely experiencing their warmest July in modern history. He noted the coastal city of Ningbo reached 108.9ºF on July 26 to establish the highest temperature ever recorded at a coastal location in East or Southeast Asia.
The South China Morning Post said large crowds of people thronged subway stations in several Chinese cities, seeking the air-conditioned tunnels as a relief from the extreme and prolonged heat. The newspaper's website said Changsha, the capital of Hunan, established a new record of 25 consecutive "high-temperature days," days when the mercury topped 95ºF.
Little relief is expected in this region, as triple-digit heat is likely to persist well into early August across these same areas, along with widespread lows in the 80s.
(FORECAST: Shanghai)
MORE: Gansu Earthquake, China, July 2013

1 / 52

People pray for the victims of the Gansu earthquake on July 24, 2013 in Laibin, China. (ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)