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Red alert as Shanghai records highest temperature ever

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Shanghai, China's biggest city and global financial hub, registered a new record high temperature on Friday, July 21, 2017, forcing the Shanghai Central Meteorological Observatory to issue a red alert for high temperatures. A total of 13 high-temperature red alerts have been issued since 2007 when the new meteorological early warning system was adopted.

The meteorological department of east China metropolis Shanghai recorded an air temperature of 40.9 °C (105.6 °F) at around 14:00 local time Friday, the highest on record in the city in 145 years. The previous record high temperature in the city of 40.8 °C (105.4 °F) was recorded on August 7, 2013, according to Xinhua

China has a three-tier early warning system for high temperatures: a yellow warning is issued when high temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) are predicted for three consecutive days, orange indicates a predicted high temperature of 37 °C (98.6 °F) in the next 24 hours, and a red alert is issued when the temperature is forecast to reach 40 °C (104 °F) within 24 hours.

Other areas of China also have seen records set in recent weeks, in what has been a torrid summer so far for much of the country, while large areas of south-central China have endured raging floods from torrential rain, AFP reported.

Shanghai's red alert also puts authorities on heightened alert against fires breaking out and advises special care with perishable foods to prevent spoilage and bacteria.

The city has "seen a spike in accidental injuries, triggered by fights or traffic accidents, as people are more easily irritated in the extreme heat and failing to exercise proper judgment," Shanghai weather bureau said Friday. Even dogs are on edge, according to a state media report this week that said the heat wave has coincided with a rise in dog bites.

Heat waves have hit the city since the beginning of summer, meteorologists said, blaming a subtropical high and hot southwesterly for the relentless heat. They say that the city will continue to bake at least until early August when typhoon season begins and the weather begins to shift.

Featured image credit: Gabriel Jorby

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