Shanghai breaks 100-year-old heat record amid intense heatwave

China’s financial hub Shanghai experienced its hottest day in May in over a century amid an ongoing heatwave that has gripped large parts of the country’s southern region.

The bustling metropolitan city recorded temperatures at a scorching 36.1C on Monday, the state weather agency said.

Monday’s peak temperature surpassed the previous May record of 35.7C, which was set in 1876, 1903, 1915 and 2018, according to statistics from the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.

Apart from Shanghai, at least 10 weather stations in southern China have recorded the highest May temperatures.

Sichuan province, home to more than 80 million people, has already issued high-temperature warnings, with some areas recording a sweltering 42C.

State media reports indicate temperatures in certain cities within Sichuan will reach 38C in the next few days, while some areas could even hit a scorching 42C.

The record-breaking heatwave continues an alarming trend of unusually hot weather experienced across the country since March.

China usually experiences its peak summer from June to August, when temperatures range between 25-33C ideally. In some regions, higher temperatures have been noted.

This year, however, the heat spell began much earlier, caused by increasing global temperatures because of the human-induced climate crisis.

In April – amid a sweltering heatwave reported across 12 countries in Asia – several weather stations in China recorded temperatures above 35C, unusually high for the season, state media reported.

Jim Yuan, a researcher at the China Meteorological Association (CMA), called it a “historical day” for the country as he noted that “approximately 200 weather stations broke or tied records for temperatures in May”.

“The heat will continue tomorrow, and the temperature in Yunnan will hit a new high,” he said.

The CMA forecast said that until Wednesday, a large portion of southern China, including Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, will experience temperatures exceeding 35C.

In some areas, temperatures may climb as high as 37-39C.

The rise in temperatures can also, in part, be a result of tropical cyclone Mawar which is passing close to the Philippines, Taiwan and southern China, bringing rains and gusts of winds to the archipelago.

“Because typhoon Mawar is currently at sea 600 kilometres east of China, southern China is affected by the northerly airflow on the west side of the typhoon,” Mr Yuan told The Independent.

“The high temperature along the coast of southern China is basically caused by this reason, but it is unprecedented in May.”

Meanwhile, Hong Kong is expected to see temperatures as high as 38C in the coming days due to the impacts of typhoon Mawar, local media reported.