China Heat Wave: Forecast to Rise Further, Govt Activates Emergency Response for First Time (PHOTOS)

At least two people have died from the heat wave currently enveloping eastern and southern China, which on Tuesday has breached the 35 degrees C (95 degrees F) mark. For the first time ever, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) has activated a level two emergency heat wave response as meteorologists forecast temperatures could reach 38 degrees C to 41 degrees C well into the first week of August.

Covered in the emergency heat wave response were east China's Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, central China's Hunan and Hubei, south China's Fujian, and the Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities.

The heat wave statistics on Tuesday was the seventh straight day of 38 degrees C heat. China meteorologists noted it was the highest number since the country began keeping weather records in 1873.

It also marked the 23^rd day in July that hit at least 35 degrees C, which according to Xinhuanet was last experienced by the country in 1934.

At least two people have died in Shanghai, a 63-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man, because of heat stroke. There were also reported deaths in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, and two in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province.

Persistent subtropical high pressure over east China has shifted summer rains northward, leaving Shanghai and much of east China baking hot, AccuWeather said. The region hasn't had tropical storms in July.

"There is more extreme weather as the world's climate is becoming warmer, but human activities also contribute to the increase in temperature," Zheng Yan, a research fellow with the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

Temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius are forecast to occur along the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, regions south of the Yangtze River and southwest Chongqing Municipality from Tuesday to Aug. 8, the CMA said.

Cooling Down

To counter possible ill effects to health, residents in eastern and southern China are resorting to varied ways and means to keep themselves cool.

People have literally flooded the beach.

Some hang out, even sleep, in the subways.

Some even go to supermarket not to buy food but just to cool down.

Drought

Apart from potential health hazards, the heat wave has also given farmers despair over lost income.

Wang Enda, a 58-year-old farmer in Haohuahong, a village in Guizhou province, does not expect much earnings from his corn plantation. He also said all his hot peppers and grapes have wilted.

"I'm not looking forward to the harvest," Wang told China Daily. He said he expects a 70 per cent reduction in his crops.

On Sunday, it was reported that some 653,000 hectares of farmland had been affected by the drought in Hunan.

In mountainous Guizhou Province, the provincial government said on Tuesday the drought has affected 840,000 hectares of crops. Economic losses are estimated at over 5 billion yuan.

In Hubei Province, the drought has damaged 287,000 hectares of crops.