BEIJING, June 22 (Reuters) - Beijing on Thursday issued its second-most severe warning for high temperatures that are expected to persist through the weekend as northern China battled another round of heatwaves in a week.
The Chinese capital raised an orange alert, warning temperatures could rise as high as 39 Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) in most parts of the city from Thursday to Saturday.
Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong in northern China were hammered by heatwaves last week, prompting local authorities to step up efforts to safeguard crops, ensure the safety of tourists, and suspend outdoor work during the hottest part of the day.
China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
An orange alert is issued when the maximum temperature exceeds 40 Celsius in a single day, or the maximum temperature remains above 37 Celsius for two consecutive days.
Persons:
Ryan Woo, Michael Perry
Organizations:
heatwaves, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson
Locations:
BEIJING, Beijing, China, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang