China: Summer heat wave ‘longest and most intense’ in 60 years

Meteorological Office China has declared a red alert for high temperatures this Monday, a day when parts of up to eleven provinces and regions could see temperatures exceed 40 degrees due to a heat wave that experts are calling the “longest and most intense” in 60 years. local media report.

The institution predicted that temperatures above 40 degrees would be recorded in various parts of Chinese geography, but mainly in the central provinces such as Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan or Jiangxi.

The notice released today marks the 26th consecutive day of high temperature warnings in the Asian nation, alarming some experts: “This heat wave is the most intense and longest since official records began in 1961,” he explained to the daily. Global Times meteorological department investigator China Sun Shao.

Sun said the expansion of this wave has already exceeded what the country experienced in 2013, which lasted 62 days.

In addition, this year “started earlier” than 2013, Sun explained, warning that the heatwave could last another week.

These heatwaves could become the “new normal” in the Asian country under the “effect of climate change,” according to local media expert Chen Lijuan of National Climate Centeradding: “High temperatures start earlier, end later, and last longer. This will become more and more obvious in the future.”

High demand for electricity

The heat also entails an increase in demand for electricity: metropolis Shanghaiwhich has experienced record temperatures in recent weeks, recorded annual growth 38.41% in July and 40.2% in the first week of August in the sale of electricity to consumers.

The provinces most affected by mercury already have some energy restrictions in place, such as Zhejiang (east), where, according to local media, the use of energy in some industries and air conditioning in cinemas is limited.

Last year, when the rainfall unprecedented in decades was recorded in the central province of Henan, causing the death of more than 300 people, local experts were already pointing to the consequences of a natural disaster. changing of the climate.

Song Lianchun, meteorologist National Meteorological Centerstated at the time: “We cannot say that an extreme weather event is directly caused by climate change, but in the long term, global warming causes an increase in the intensity and frequency of such events.”

EFE