BEIJING: China on Monday (Jul 17) said the mercury hit 52.2 degrees Celsius in the northwest of the country over the weekend, setting a record for mid-July.
A weather station in the Xinjiang region’s Sanbao village “recorded a temperature peak of 52.2 degrees Celsius at 7pm on Jul 16, breaking the historic heat record for the same period of the year”, the China Meteorological Administration said in a statement.
The previous record of 50.6 degrees Celsius was set in July 2017, according to the statement.
Sanbao lies on the outskirts of Turpan city, where authorities have told workers and students to stay home and ordered special vehicles to spray water on major thoroughfares, the meteorological body said.
Ground surface temperatures reached 80 degrees Celsius in parts of Turpan on Sunday, according to the statement.
The Northern Hemisphere has endured record-setting summer heat waves in recent weeks, which scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.
Chinese authorities have warned of extreme weather and “multiple natural disasters” this summer.