Across China: Heat wave scorches parts of China

Sweltering heat in parts of China over the past two days have left sweaty residents stuck at home or driven them to the pool or even bomb shelters to keep cool.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Thursday evening renewed a yellow alert for a heat wave in some central, southern and eastern provinces, where temperatures of between 35 and 39 degrees Celsius are predicted for Friday.

In Changsha City, capital of central China's Hunan Province, a supermarket salesman told Xinhua that this month the sales of air-conditioners are up 30 percent compared with previous years.

"At this time in past years, people tended to buy fans, but it's too hot now, they can't go without air-conditioners," he said.

With fans and air-conditioners running at full blast, the city saw its maximum power load on Wednesday up nearly 50 percent from a week ago.

The scorching heat has held back visitors to the night fairs that the city is famed for. "In the past, there was no way for us to have a break at 10 p.m.. these days there is no problem because of the heat," said a night snack shop owner at the busy Huangxing Road in downtown Changsha.

In east China's Fujian Province, the power load on Thursday surpassed last summer's record. In the provincial capital of Fuzhou, which just bid farewell to heavy rain, the high temperature caused cracks on windows. Youngsters have taken to swimming pools while the elderly have retreated into bomb shelters that are regularly opened to residents in the summer.

Traffic police in the southwestern city of Chongqing said they have received many reports of drivers with sunstroke.

A water park in the city held a competition on Thursday, when the temperature crept over 37 degrees Celsius, rewarding participants who could hold a 60 cm-long and 35 cm-wide ice cube for at least 30 seconds.

The sweltering heat in cities partly results from a phenomenon known as "urban heat island" -- higher urban temperatures due to the man-made urban surfaces such as buildings and roads, and the heat generated by human activity.

Monitoring by Hunan's land and resources department showed the temperature gap between urban areas and suburbs of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city group rose to 7 degrees Celsius last year from 3 degrees Celsius in 1994.

In the far western Xinjiang, people seem calmer towards the scorching weather. At the "Mountain of Flames" in Turpan prefecture, also known as "Fire State," the noon temperature hits 60 degrees Celsius these days.

Some peddlers are selling eggs baked on the ground, attracting many buyers. "Experiencing the heat is a bright spot of our trip to Turpan, and it's really hot!" said a tourist.

Despite the heat wave, storms have plagued much of the country. The NMC on Thursday warned parts of Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, and Xinjiang should brace for potential geological disasters from Thursday night to Friday night, as heavy rain has been forecast. Endi