China recorded its hottest August since weather records began in 1961, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday, following weeks of an unusually long heat wave in the country.
Last month, the average temperature in China was 22.4 C, 1.2 C higher than the previous all-time high, CCTV said, citing the meteorological service.
A very hot and very dry month of August
Midsummer heat waves are not uncommon in China, especially in the arid west and south of the country.
But the Asian giant is facing extreme weather conditions this year, exacerbated by global warming, according to scientists.
Some 267 monitoring stations across the country tied or broke temperature records last month, according to CCTV.
August was also the third driest month on record in China, with average rainfall 23.1 percent lower than usual.
Full air conditioning and poor electrical network
This summer, "the number of days of high heat was abnormally high", indicated on the chain the meteorological services, specifying that the consequences continued to be felt.
In several provinces, temperatures have happily exceeded 40°C in recent weeks, leading to an almost systematic use of air conditioning.
Problem: the electricity network is struggling to keep up, when the rivers are dried up because of the heat and the dams are struggling to operate.
Several provinces had thus had to ration electricity, like Sichuan (southwest) one of the most affected regions, which heavily penalized activity and businesses.
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