BEIJING - The sweltering summer of 2013 is going on record as the hottest summer in China since 1961.
According to a Monday microblog post by the National Meteorological Center (NMC),temperatures have reached or exceeded 35 degrees Celsius for an average of 25.3 days ineight provinces and municipalities since July 1, marking the greatest number of hot daysrecorded during the period since 1961.
Extreme heat has resulted in at least 40 deaths in south China, according to local governmentreports. Over ten people died from heatstroke in Shanghai during the period.
Outdoor laborers like sanitation workers are most vulnerable to the scorching heat. In centralChina's Hunan Province, three sanitation workers died of heatstroke within less than onemonth. Another municipal worker in east China's city of Hangzhou died while returning after anentire day of working under the blazing sun.
Authorities have for the first time declared the heat to be a second-level weather emergency, alabel normally used for typhoons and floods. The NMC issued a second-level heat alert onTuesday for the next 20 days.
In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, high temperatures and scarce rainfall have all butobliterated the local mosquito population, according to a local resident surnamed Lei.
The municipal disease control center said the area's mosquito density in June was down 57.1 percent compared to the previous year.
Local residents who lack air conditioning have had to get creative in order to beat the heat.Computer saleswoman Wang Jing splashes water on her floor to cool her bedroom down before she goes to sleep, while her neighbor has chosen to sleep on the balcony at night.
In rural areas across south China, a worsening drought that has accompanied the persistentheat has taken a heavy toll on agriculture and made drinking water increasingly difficult toobtain.
A Tuesday report from the Hunan provincial government said 3.06 million people have sufferedfrom drinking water shortages, with the drought affecting 85.6 percent of the province'svillages.
Drinking water scarcity is also affecting 1.17 million people in the neighboring province of Hubei, where authorities said they do not expect significant rainfall until August 22.
The heat has also caused damage to the vast bamboo forests of Hunan's Taojiang County, ashigh temperatures have increased the appetites of locusts and therefore hastened theirreproduction.
The highest temperature recorded in the country was seen in the city of Fenghua in eastChina's Zhejiang Province, which recorded a historic high temperature of 43 degrees Celsiusover the last few days.
Local resident Wang Gengdi is unaccustomed to the shortage of drinking water beingexperienced in the area, as the city is close to numerous rivers and lakes.
"We haven't seen a lack of water in many years, but right now the only source of drinking waterin my village is a pond with limited supplies," she said.
Yang Jinbao, a honey peach farmer in Fenghua, has seen his honey peaches wither to the sizeof a ping-pong ball. About 800 of his honey peach trees have died.
The heat is also causing unexpected accidents. A billboard in Zhejiang mysteriously caught fireduring the heat, while in Hangzhou, 236 instances of car tires blowing out have been reported.
The NMA said Tuesday that the range and intensity of the heat will decrease over the nextthree days, although temperatures over 35 degree Celsius will persist in some areas.
On Monday, Vice Premier Wang Yang called for greater efforts to fight droughts and floods toensure the safety of those affected by the disasters.
The central government had allocated 460 million yuan ($74.6 million) to ease droughts andprevent floods by August 9.
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