Temperature surges to over 40 C in Pingdingshan city, Central China’s Henan Province on June 12, 2024. Photo: IC

The scorching summer heat wave continues to wreak havoc in the central and northern swathes of China on Wednesday with temperatures in some cities in Hebei and Henan provinces reeling under 43 C or above, which is also intensifying drought in Henan, one of the country’s major crop-producing provinces. 

The Hebei Meteorological Service maintained its red alert, the highest level for high temperatures on Wednesday. 

The weather forecast said that the searing heat wave will intensify impact in Hebei on Wednesday and Thursday with a large part of the province to be affected. Cities such as Baoding and Langfang in the province, as well as places to the south will bake under blistering heat where the mercury is expected to soar to 37 – 43 C. 

On Thursday, the majority parts of middle and southern parts of the province will continue to suffer from high temperatures of 38 to 40 C, with some places expected to reach a stifling 41 to 44 C. 

In the neighboring Henan Province, a red alert for high temperature was issued by Henan Meteorological Service on Wednesday morning, with multiple places such as Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and the northern part of Luoyang expected to suffer from high temperatures of 40 C or above. 

Meanwhile, the Henan provincial climate center issued an orange alert for drought on Wednesday, saying that 72 national-level meteorological stations in 16 cities in the province including Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Luoyang have monitored the severe drought situation for consecutive 10 days. 

It is forecasted that the drought conditions and the range of the drought in the aforementioned cities and surrounding areas are expected to further develop over the following week until June 20. 

Global Times