Beijing Heat Wave Shatters Records as Temps Soar Above 40C

Unruly hot weather has sent residents scrambling for relief in the Chinese capital as meteorologists upgraded the weather alert system to “red” on Friday. Temperatures have soared above 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius), breaking all records for June.

The warnings come after an even hotter day on Thursday, when one weather station in the city’s south struck 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41.1 Celsius) in the mid-afternoon, according to Chinese media reports.

“This station has only hit temperatures exceeding 41C three times since records began,” China’s National Meteorological Center said. “Baking heat will persist in Beijing for the next two days, with temperatures perhaps reaching 38C to 39C [100-102F].”

The only time the Nanjiao weather station has recorded a higher temperature was in July 1999, when it reached 107.42 degrees Fahrenheit (41.9 Celsius).

The surrounding Hebei Province has been sweltering for days in the heat wave, with the coastal city of Tianjin - administratively separate from Hebei, just as Beijing is - hit (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 Celsius). The provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, about 150 miles south of Beijing, hit 104.7 degrees Fahrenheit (40.4 Celsius) on Thursday. Nationwide, 17 weather stations “recorded record high temperature extremes” that day, according to the weather service.

China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday warned residents to limit their time outdoors and avoid physical exertion, and many outdoor events have been canceled.

The heat wave has extended inland as well, across the Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang regions, and as far south as Shandong and Henan provinces, disrupting the three-day Dragon Boat Festival, a national holiday celebrated with races in oar-powered “dragon boats.” The nautical celebrations have invited residents to go for a dip in Beijing’s many canals to escape the heat.

“I don’t know what kind of sticky rice dumpling is best for cooling down,” musician, actor and teen idol Zhang Zhenyuan wrote on Weibo, referring to the bamboo leaf-wrapped treats eaten as part of the festival.

Others on social media said they were beating the heat with cold foods like mung bean soup, sour plum drink, and watermelon.

However, some are struggling. Local news has reported at least one death and several cases of heat stroke, many of whom have been elderly residents who did not have or did not turn on their air conditioning.

Brutal heat waves have put increasing pressure on China’s electrical grid in recent years as the country struggles to wean itself off fossil fuels that pollute the atmosphere and drive global warming, but which have also been the basis of its rapid industrialization. In 2021, high power demand led to brownouts in some eastern cities - a situation residents fear could return, but of which the Chinese government has pledged to avoid a repeat.

According to the country’s multi-year economic plans, its carbon output will peak before 2030, but then rapidly decrease as coal-fired power plants are taken offline.