South China hit by weekend heat wave

By Liang Qiwen (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-24 07:23

GUANGZHOU - Scorching sun replaced pouring rain at the weekend, as a heat wave hit southern parts of the country, the Guangdong weather bureau said on Monday.

Xiao Weijun, a forecaster with the bureau, said the unusually hot weather in South China, which just last week was inundated by heavy floods, was due to a subtropical high-pressure belt.

Guangdong, Hunan and Fujian provinces, and the Guangxi autonomous region all reported highs of 35 C and above at the weekend, much higher than the June average of 26-33 C, Xiao said.

In Guangxi, several cities, including the capital Nanning, saw the mercury rise to 35 C on Sunday, the hottest day of the year.

In Changsha, capital of Hunan province, the temperature on Sunday soared to 38 C.

However, the local weather bureau said rain is forecast for the coming days.

In Guangdong, 51 cities and counties experienced a heat wave, with 36 of them, including provincial capital Guangzhou, issuing yellow warning signals, indicating the temperature was above 35 C.

The warning system has three levels - yellow, red and black - indicating temperatures of above 35, 37, and 38 C, respectively.

Xiao said the temperature in Guangzhou reached 36 C on Monday, the highest this summer.

Lin Liangxun, chief forecaster with the Guangdong weather bureau, said as well as the high-pressure belt, a stream of sinking airflow, brought by Typhoon Fengshen that has reached the Taiwan Straits, was partly responsible for the heat wave.

Five to seven tropical cyclones are expected to hit Guangdong this summer, which in turn will bring more hot weather and typhoons, he said.

Temperatures throughout the province will remain high and could rise over the coming days, he said, with 37 C possible in some cities in the north and south of Guangdong.

He advised residents to seek shade in the middle of the day and to wear sun cream if they venture outside.

People throughout the province are doing their best to cope with the soaring heat.

Chen Guangqing, a Guangzhou man whose home does not have air conditioning, said: "It is so hot, I can't get to sleep at night."

Schoolchildren have also complained about having to do physical exercise classes in the heat.

Luo Rongdan, a high school girl, said: "I get very dizzy when we are doing sports because it is so hot."

The Guangdong water resource department said on Monday that despite the province recently experiencing its worst floods for 50 years, the threat of further natural disasters like heat waves, droughts or typhoons, remains.

The provincial weather bureau said Typhoon Fengshen is moving northwest at a speed of 15 kph and will arrive in the northeast part of the South China Sea today.