Many parts of China have been baking in scorching temperatures
recently. And experts predict that the hot weather will last for
quite a while yet.
Qiao Lin, a senior engineer from the Beijing Climate Center,
said: "The hot weather is caused by the so-called subtropical
anticyclone. From mid June to early July, the high point of a
subtropical anticyclone is around 20 degrees North Latitude. The
subtropical anticyclone leads to abnormal rain patterns followed by
unusually hot temperatures. "
In June, the average temperature in China was around 22 degrees
Celsius, much higher than in previous years.
In some parts of China, temperatures soared to a scorching 42
degrees. Rainfall in the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze
River decreased by 3 to 5 percent compared with previous years.
Experts predict that in the following 10 days, high temperatures
will hit most of the regions south of the Yangtze River. They also
warn that droughts might occur in some areas.
In related news, as the temperature rose above 38 degrees
yesterday in Beijing, the zoo's three polar bears, the animals most
affected by the heat, seemed decidedly more comfortable than their
human friends languishing in the sun.
The bears have been keeping their cool by licking their lunch
served frozen in large ice cubes.
Keeper Xiao Ruihong said staff stuff beef, fish and fruit into
10-kilogram blocks of ice each morning.
The polar bears also take turns to sit in an air-conditioned
room, where the temperature is fixed at 26 degrees.
The polar bears also have their very own king-sized swimming
pool. Their neighbors, the brown bears and wolves, sadly, have to
share one.
As for zoo's larger residents such as the elephants, who have
neither air conditioning nor a swimming pool, relief comes in the
form of extra showers.
Zhuang Zhuang, a 9-year-old African elephant, spends most of his
time under the shade of a tree or a shelter in his pen, continually
waving his trunk in search of the scent of water.
Over in Shanghai, ponchos and umbrellas were the order of the
day yesterday, as the first heavy rains in weeks gave the
municipality a much-needed reprieve from the heat.
People breathed a sigh of relief as the 39-degree heat on
Tuesday gave way to a comfortable 26 degrees yesterday.
Power output in the city, a source of concern this summer, hit a
record 16.64 million kilowatts shortly after mid-day on Tuesday.
The power grid has a capacity of 17 million kilowatts.
(China Daily July 7, 2005)