Summer heat claims 10 lives

Temperatures exceed 38°C in Shanghai for eighth straight day

SHANGHAI: More than 10 people here have died of heatstroke in an unprecedented summer heat, local health officials said.

The Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control & Prevention said the persisting high temperatures have caused a spike in the number of heliosis patients in the city.

However, centre officials declined to disclose the exact number of deaths.

Temperatures in Shanghai surpassed 39°C on Tuesday, the eighth straight day that temperatures were above 38°C, the Shanghai Meteorological Center said.

The centre said that with 24 days of temperatures at or above 35°C monitored so far, this July has been the hottest for the financial and business centre since weather records started 140 years ago.

In an eye-catching demonstration of the hot weather, a reporter from a Shanghai TV station successfully barbecued pork slices on outdoor marble in just 10 minutes.

The disease control and prevention centre said over 30% of the patients who died were hit by summer heat when they were indoors.

A doctor from Shanghai Minhang District Center Hospital said three elderly patients have died of sunstroke at his hospital, while two others were in life-threatening condition.

The doctor surnamed Zheng advised all elderly citizens not to avoid using air conditioning, referring to widely held belief among elderly Chinese that air conditioning is unhealthy or a waste of money.

Heat waves continued to scorch many parts of China on Tuesday, triggering level two emergency response to heat from the China Meteorological Administration.

The emergency response covers provinces including east Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jiangxi, central Hunan and Hubei, south Fujian, and Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities. — Xinhua