On Friday, China issued its highest-level heat alarm for northern parts of the country, as the temperatures in Beijing reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
A day earlier, Beijing experienced its warmest June day since records began with the temperature reaching 41.1 degrees Celsius, beating a 1961 record.
The city is accustomed to hot summers, but temperatures in China have been particularly high in recent months, with scientists claiming that climate change is exacerbating the heat.
On Friday morning, 185 red alerts were issued across swathes of northern and eastern China, including Beijing, Tianjin, and the bordering provinces of Hebei and Shandong.
The red alert is the most severe of the four-tier system.
According to government weather agencies, this is the first time the red alert has been used utilized in Beijing since 2014.
By Thursday, many surrounding areas had already been placed on red alert.
pedestrians in Beijing were observed wearing masks, hats, and visors to protect themselves from the sun.
Some people sought relief from the heat by splashing around in the city’s canals.
According to China’s meteorological service, the temperature in the coastal province of Shandong, which borders the Yellow Sea, hit 43 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
Temperature records were broken at 17 meteorological stations in the region.
Forecasters predicted that the extreme heat will last at least eight days in the northern and eastern parts of the country.
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