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Scorching Heat Keeps Tight Hold on Beijing
Beijing is in the grip of a heat wave with Wednesday's daytime temperature peaking at 40 C, the second hottest day on record this summer, the city weather forecast authority said.
"We are not surprised by the high temperature. It happens often in this season," Li Yanfu, chief engineer of Beijing Observatory said, adding that the hottest day might still be on its way.
The low pressure system is not expected to let up in the next three to four days, and the high temperature is expected to persist, the official said.
The heat wave has also plagued parts of Xinjiang and most regions in North China.
Li said urban sprawl, global warming, and the city's increasing use of glass in buildings all contribute to the extreme heat.
Sales of air conditioners in Beijing were up and taxi business was soaring. Hospitals saw an increase in sunstroke cases yesterday.
A sweat-soaked Beijing taxi driver, Zhang Jian, jokingly said his passengers were taking a "sauna" in his Chinese-made Xiali thanks to its poor air-conditioning.
"I feel guilty when passengers get into my car. I have to keep telling them the air conditioner in my car is not good enough to shun the boiling heat," he said. "It's too hot today."
A salesgirl at Modern Plaza said air conditioners were out of supply days before hot weather was predicted.
The heat also caused the city's major swimming pools to temporarily increase manpower to prepare for a potential overload of local residents.
An official from Maizhongqiao, one of the city's biggest outdoor swimming pools, said the first heatwave that swept Beijing early this month pushed more than 2,300 residents a day to seek coolness in the pool, a number far exceeding its capacity of 1,000.
Beijing witnessed the hottest summer in decades in 1999, with temperatures peaking at 42.2 C - the hottest day in nearly half a century.
The hottest day of the year in Beijing usually occurs in the middle of July, according to the city weather forecast authority.
Since June, there have been 13 days in Beijing with temperatures hitting 35 C.
"It is still very likely that there are some days this month when temperatures could exceed 40 C," the official said.
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