In the next three days, most of southern China is expected to suffer temperatures of more than 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), with temperatures in some areas exceeding 40C, national forecasters said on Friday.
Extreme hot weather beset China, like many part of Asia in recent weeks, even before summer arrived.
But how they are occurring - it's just been week on week on week of these records being shattered," said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climate scientist with the University of New South Wales.
ELECTRICITY DEMANDDemand for electricity in southern manufacturing hubs, including Guangdong, has surged in recent days, with China Southern Power Grid, one of the country's two grid operators, seeing peak power load exceeding 200 million kilowatts - weeks earlier than normal and close to historical highs.
Powerful convection weather has also wreaked havoc in central China in recent weeks, with protracted downpours and even hail devastating the country's ongoing wheat harvest.
Persons:
David Kirton, we've, Zhao, Yang, haven't, heatstroke, I'm, Sarah Perkins, Kirkpatrick, Mei, Gao Rong, Ryan Woo, Qiaoyi Li, David Stanway, Michael Perry, Simon Cameron, Moore
Organizations:
heatwave, REUTERS, Reuters, University of New, China Southern Power Grid, National Climate Centre, Thomson
Locations:
Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Shanghai, Asia, University of New South Wales, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Henan, Beijing, Singapore