A total of 152 national-level meteorological observatories across China have recorded high temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius since the beginning of July, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced on Wednesday.
The duration of scorching days and extreme high temperatures may surpass historical records for the same period, as the heatwave is expected to continue, according to the CMA.
Since July 11, days with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius were mainly observed in the southeastern Shaanxi Province, central and western Hubei Province, northeastern and western Chongqing Municipality, eastern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, covering an area of 407,000 square kilometers, said the National Climate Center under the CMA.
Moreover, 32 observatories recorded record-breaking temperatures, with stations in Dongkan, Xinjiang, recording temperatures up to 48.7 degrees Celsius, Xingping, Shaanxi, recording 43.1 degrees Celsius, and Badong, Hubei, recording 42.9 degrees Celsius.
Intermittent heatwaves are expected to continue in the southern part of north China, the Huanghuai region, and south China in late July.
From early to mid-August, these high temperatures are expected to impact areas including Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, the Sichuan-Chongqing region, the eastern Northwest China, western Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang.
In some parts of central east China, part of central China, the eastern part of southwest China, and southern Xinjiang, the highest temperatures may exceed historical averages for the same period. However, the likelihood of these heatwaves' duration surpassing the historical extremes for the same period is relatively low, according to the CMA.
152 national-level observatories across China recorded temperatures exceeding 40 °C since July
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.
Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.
Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.
"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.
The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.
Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar
