SHIJIAZHUANG: North China’s Hebei Province renewed a red alert for high temperatures on Friday, the highest level in China’s alert system, after at least two people died as a result of heatwaves.
At 11 a.m., the provincial meteorological station issued a red alert, expecting peak temperatures of 37 to 39 degrees Celsius in areas including the cities of Baoding and Langfang on Friday. The hottest temperatures may reach 40 to 43 degrees Celsius in certain areas.
China’s Meteorological Bureau
According to Mai Wenming, a senior engineer at the provincial meteorological bureau, peak temperatures at nine national weather stations in Hebei have reached new highs this year, with Pingshan County in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang reaching 43.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday — the highest temperature ever recorded in the province.
According to Qi Huijun, deputy director of Hebei General Hospital’s emergency department, the hospital had nine patients suffering from heat stroke in the previous month, with one of them dying in mid-June. Another death from heat stroke has been reported at Shijiazhuang People’s Hospital. According to He Zhihong, director of the hospital’s emergency department, the patient died despite days of medical treatment.
He recommended the elderly and patients with chronic diseases pay more attention to weather forecasts and high-temperature warnings and limit their outdoor activities accordingly.
