Heat waves are forecast to return to China over the next 10 days after a brief respite, with high temperatures expected from east to west, forecasters warned.Temperatures are expected to soar as early as Saturday, known as the “Great Heat” day in the Chinese almanac, before escalating into heat waves, defined as periods of uncharacteristically hot weather lasting three or more days.According to China’s National Meteorological Center, sweltering temperatures are expected to blanket the southern provinces, the country’s economically vital provinces in the east, as well as parts of Xinjiang in the west.
This hot spell is expected to be similar in scale to the July 5-17 heatwave, but more regions could be hit by temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or higher, Fu Jiaolan, the center’s chief forecaster, told state media. China’s weather watchers have described this year’s heat as extreme, increasing demand for air conditioning in homes, offices and factories and pushing the load on power grids in more than a dozen provinces to record highs.
From June 1 to July 20, parts of the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins – major centers of industry and trade – were hit with at least 10 more than normal high temperature days.Since June, heat waves have also hit other parts of East Asia, Western Europe, North Africa and North America, sparking fires in many countries.
