China ordered companies in certain regions to limit outdoor work due to high temperatures, at a time when the country is facing heat, floods and droughts.
Authorities issued an orange alert, the second highest level of warning, due to heat waves in the south and much of north and northeast China.
Rescue teams search for seven people missing after a landslide occurred on a road under construction due to torrential rains.
The incident killed at least one person in the central city of Yichang in Hubei province. Five people were injured, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Temperatures above 40 degrees are forecast in Beijing and central and southeast China. 39 degrees is forecast for the southwestern province of Sichuan. Temperatures above 35 degrees are still expected in most of northern China, the rest of Sichuan and much of the south.
The orange alert forces employers to carry out work outdoors as soon as possible. Despite this, home delivery workers continue to operate.
Two heatwave-related deaths in Beijing were previously reported. A tour guide collapsed last weekend in the Summer Palace, an imperial-era garden, and a woman died last month of heat stroke.
The Ministry of Agriculture warned on Sunday that persistent hot weather could damage rice crops. They also said that local authorities need to ensure paddy fields have adequate water to prevent the rice from ripening prematurely.
Elsewhere, tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes due to flooding in north, central and southeast China.
Some areas, including the populous Hebei province that surrounds Beijing, issued a red alert on Sunday, the highest temperature alert.
Residents of some cities moved into underground bomb shelters to protect themselves from the heat.
Earth’s average temperature set a new unofficial record on Thursday, the third straight milestone for the hottest week on record.
Source: TSF
