Citizens have been warned about the possibility of heatstroke as the northern Chinese cities of Beijing and Shijiazhuang sizzle in high temperatures.
Local meteorological authorities in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, issued high-temperature warnings to its citizens twice on Monday, as the city saw the temperatures rise to 39.7 degrees Celsius at 4 PM - the highest in eight years - from 38.1 degrees at 2 PM.
On June 25, 1999, Shijiazhuang also registered a maximum temperature of 39.7 degrees, statistics show.
Citizens in the national capital of Beijing experienced a high of 37 degrees or more in different areas of the city on Monday.
Meteorological authorities in the two cities forecast another 37 degrees or more on Tuesday, but temperatures are expected to drop by about five degrees on Wednesday and Thursday when it rains.
Despite the high temperatures, Chinese people have been told to go easy on the air-conditioning to reduce energy consumption and office workers have been advised to wear light, casual clothes rather than formal suits.
The State Council, or the cabinet, in early June issued a circular, banning temperatures lower than 26 degrees in all air-conditioned public rooms in China.
All government agencies, associations, groups, companies and private owners in public buildings should strictly comply with this rule, according to the circular.
Under a five-year plan to 2010, China pledged to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent, or four percent each year. But consumption fell by just 1.23 percent last year.
(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2007)