Based on statistical analysis on the meteorological data of China’s provincial capital cities and municipalities, the China Meteorological Administration on July 9 released a ranking of the hottest cities. The top four cities: Chongqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanchang, have become the new “furnace cities” in China.

Wuhan and Nanjing, two longstanding “furnace cities,” are no longer on the top-four list. According to a decade of climate change data, the average temperature of most cities along the Yangtze River showed a slower increase in temperatures compared to many northern cities, Liu Huosheng, the director of Wuhan Meteorological Observatory, told Changjiang Daily. In Wuhan, for example, years of ecological conservation and rehabilitation have increased total water coverage by 26 percent, making the summer heat in Wuhan less severe.

China’s meteorological agency issued a yellow alert for a new round of heat wave on July 9. It is estimated that temperatures in areas including western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern Gansu, southern Xinjiang, western Sichuan Basin, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Hainan will see temperatures rise above 35 degrees Celsius on July 10. Parts of these regions might experience temperatures as high as 37-39 degrees Celsius, even as high as 40 degrees.