Scorching temperatures from the heat wave are melting roofs and bulging out roads in dozens of Chinese cities. The sweltering weather drives citizens to seek shelter underground.
Red alerts have already been issued in 68 cities, with temperatures forecast to exceed 40 degrees in the next 24 hours.
Shanghai, which is still battling Covid-19 outbreaks, has warned its 25 million people to brace for heat this week.
Since the first records in 1873, until now, Shanghai has only had 15 days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Today, that record is broken when the great metropolis experiences the hottest July in at least 140 years, and the continuation of temperatures is forecast for the following weeks.
A photo shared on social networks shows the measures against the heat that citizens take. A health worker in full personal protective equipment can be seen hugging a meter-high block of ice by the roadside.
Similarly, at a Shanghai wildlife park, its staff had to use up to eight tons of ice a day to keep their animals cool.
Local governments are turning to cloud seeding technology to bring rain to the country's drylands.
In a city in the province, in the southeast of the country, a section of road bowed at least 15 centimeters due to the heat, according to state television. Nanjing, one of China's three "furnaces" famous for its scorching summers, has opened its underground shelters to residents since Sunday, with its war bunkers equipped with Wi-Fi, books, water dispensers and even microwave ovens. The city issued a red alert on Tuesday.
In Chongqing, the second "furnace", the roof of one of its museums, literally melted. Tiles on a traditional Chinese roof cracked from the heat. The city issued a red alert Monday, as did many others.
