Heatwave starts to scorch Chinese cities in early summer

A heatwave starts to scorch Chinese cities as multiple cities record this year's highest temperature.

As upper-level warm ridge is driving temperature sharply upward across much of the northern part of China, the first sign of summer's scorching is reaching the peak.

Beijing on Saturday recorded a maximum temperature of 35 degree Celsius under clear skies, accompanied by gusty winds of Force Five to Six on the Beaufort Wind Scale (about 8 to 13.8 meters per second). According to the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Observatory, this marks the capital city's first day with a temperature reaching 35 degree Celsius since the beginning of this year.

In response to the rising heat, Beijing's subway operators have activated a defer-temperature carriage model, which maintains a fixed two-degree Celsius difference between carriages marked for "cool" and those for "cold." Operators said they will adjust cabin temperatures flexibly based on real-time weather conditions and passenger flow.

Over the weekend, the heat is expected to escalate across Henan, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Inner Mongolia, and the provinces in the northeast. A small pocket of high-temperature weather will emerge on Sunday, stretching from eastern Inner Mongolia, western Jilin to southwestern Heilongjiang.

Meanwhile, in the southern part of China, the 30-degree Celsius temperature zone is expanding rapidly as rainfall tapers off. Over the coming week, the region south of the Yellow River and north of the Huaihe River, as well as areas farther south will see persistent heat weather exceeding 30 degree Celsius.

In early June, as Tropical Storm Jangmi veers away, moisture-laden air is expected to surge inland again, intensifying the sultry conditions across areas on the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as South China. High temperatures are forecast to begin emerging in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, promoting competent authorities to urge continued vigilance.

Heatwave starts to scorch Chinese cities in early summer

Pakistan remains firmly committed to its longstanding position on the Palestinian question and will not seek normalization of ties with Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Friday.

According to Pakistani media reports, Dar made the remarks during a press conference at Pakistan's embassy in Washington after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

When asked whether U.S. President Donald Trump had dropped his calls for Muslim countries to join the Abraham Accords as part of a potential deal with Iran, Dar reiterated that Pakistan remains steadfast in its position on Palestine and Gaza.

Israel must move towards the establishment of a Palestinian state before there could be any change in Pakistan's stance towards Israel, he said.

Trump said in a social media post on Monday that he urged Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan to join the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel during phone talks with their leaders last Saturday.

Pakistan has publicly rejected the proposal, while none of the other countries Trump listed has reacted to his demand.

A Saudi source told Al Arabiya TV on Monday that Saudi Arabia's position on the Palestinian question remains unchanged, affirming the need for "an irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state".

The Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States in 2020 during Trump's first term, were established between the Israeli government and Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, aimed at rapidly advancing the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab countries.

The two-state solution envisions independent Palestinian and Israeli states coexisting peacefully. It is widely recognized by the international community as the only equitable way to resolve the Palestinian question.

Pakistani foreign minister reaffirms support for two-state solution to Palestinian question