Photo: IC

 

As searing summer temperatures are forecasted in northern China, multiple localities having just experienced a scorching Dragon Boat Festival will likely suffer an extended heat wave until Friday. 

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) maintained an orange alert, the second highest level, for high temperatures on Monday morning, forecasting a sustained round of scorching weather which will peak between Monday and Friday, with North China set to suffer from persistent high temperatures. North China's Hebei Province and East China's Shandong Province are set to embrace temperatures as high as 40 C. 

According to the NMC, elevated temperatures of 35 C or 36 C descended on Beijing, the majority of Central China's Henan Province and Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with some places including the southern part of North China's Hebei Province, the northern and western parts of East China's Shandong Province and Turpan Basin in Xinjiang suffering sustained temperatures above 40 C. 

Hebei issued the highest level of red alert for high temperature on Monday. Regions south to Baoding and Langfang were forecast to suffer high temperatures up to 40 C. It is expected that heat waves of 37 C to 39 C will continue to affect the middle and southern parts of Hebei on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the temperatures expected to reach 40 C to 42 C in some regions, with officials calling on residents to be aware of the adverse impact of continuous hot weather, according to weather.com.cn.

Jinan city in Shandong upgraded its high temperature alert to red at Monday noon and forecasted that persistent high temperature will occur in multiple districts in the city till Wednesday, with the high temperature expected to reach 40 C and even 42 C in some parts of the city, close to or breaking records for high temperatures. 

Dry heat frequently occurs in every June in the northern area across the country coinciding with elevated temperatures and low humidity, Zhang Mingying, a Beijing-based meteorologist, told the Global Times on Monday. 

According to Zhang, the high pressure controlling the Eurasia during this period and the clear weather and strong sunshine cause the high temperature during this period, which can last three to five days some times. 

This most recent heatwave has the characteristics of wide range, strong strength and long duration, according to Zhai Yu, a weather analyst from weather.com.cn. Temperatures are expected to peak between Monday and Wednesday and an area of nearly 700,000 square meters is expected to be affected. Some places such as the southern part of Hebei and Shandong may suffer high temperatures above 40 C, with some places expected to break their historic extreme values for June. 

Forecasts show that from Friday, as the cold air moves southward, the heat waves in these areas will gradually weaken and subside.

Extreme heat waves have been gripping large swathes of the northern hemisphere over recent weeks. According to Chen Tao, chief forecaster from the National Meteorological Center, the high-temperature weather in China resulted from the joint impact of the Western Pacific Subtropical High and the Continental High. 

On Sunday, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) initiated a Level-IV emergency response for high temperatures and the CMA Public Meteorological Service Center issued this year's first nationwide high-temperature and heatstroke forecast.