China is experiencing record-breaking temperatures just weeks after monsoonal floods claimed the life of several people.
On July 16, the mercury hit 52.2C in the Sanbao Township, located in Bin County in northeast China, state-run publication Xinjiang Daily said.
The blistering heat is set to continue suffocating locals for at least the next five days, forecasters warned on July 17.
This unbearable heatwave, which smashed the previous highest-ever temperature in China of 50.3C recorded in 2015, is affecting also other parts of the country, which in January was instead battling freezing temperatures as low as -53C.
The country has been experiencing extreme weather conditions over the past several weeks.
On June 22, Beijing recorded 41.1C, a record-high for the month, while the coastal metropolis of Tianjin reported 41.4C, a new all-time record for any month.
In early July, southwestern China was left reeling from deadly monsoonal floods that killed at least 15 people.
The extreme heat and devastating weather phenomenon may be behind Beijing’s desire to revive efforts to combat global warming alongside the United States despite the ongoing tensions on trade and spying allegations.
Washington’s special envoy on climate, John Kerry, is visiting China this week to have an “in-depth exchange of views” on climate issues, state broadcaster CCTV said.
This summer is far from being the most extreme China has seen in recent years.
In August 2022, the country faced a drought so severe it brought officials to deploy drones and rockets to produce rainfall, a practice known as cloud seeding.
The devices, which China had used in the past and may end up using again this year, were used to sow silver iodide, which has a similar structure to ice, into clouds.
This helped cluster water droplets around the particles and increase as a result the chance of rain.
Li Xingyu, a researcher from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained at the time: “The good thing about aircraft precipitation is that it can influence a wide range of area, it’s quite quick (in catalysts-spreading), and can work directly on the clouds, showing higher efficiency.
“This will yield better results compared to the traditional ways when working on wide-ranged cloud sheets.”
