New Delhi: China is set for the return of more heatwaves over the next 10 days, with temperatures set to start spiking in parts of the country on Saturday. Some coastal cities are already on their highest alert level and inland regions warning of dam failure risks because of melting glaciers.
This Saturday is the day of the “big heat” in the Chinese Almanac based on the lunar calendar.
The chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre told the media that the hot spell was expected to be similar in scope as heatwaves from 5-17 July, but more regions could be hit by temperatures of 40C (104F) or higher, Fu Jiaolan.
Some cities in Zhejiang province, home to many factories and exporters, on Friday issued red alerts – the highest in a three-tier warning system – forecasting temperatures of at least 40C in the next 24 hours.
The ministry of emergency management on Friday warned that The load on the national power grid could reach a new high this summer as demand for air-conditioning by homes, offices, and factories surge, with safe operation facing “severe tests”.
The western region of Xinjiang on Saturday warned of more flash floods and mudslides and risks to agriculture as heatwaves swept across the region. Xinjiang’s latest heatwaves had been particularly long-lasting and widespread, Chen Chunyan, chief expert at the Xinjiang Meteorological Observatory told the media.
The China Meteorological Administration said a day earlier that the glacial melting in Xinjiang posed a high risk of dam failure on a tributary of the Aksu River near China’s border with Kyrgyzstan. Such heatwaves could also impact crops, especially cotton, Chen said. Xinjiang accounts for the production of about 20 percent of the world’s cotton, a water-thirsty crop.
(Vinayak)