Sébastien Le Belzic / Photo credit: AFP 06:14, May 30, 2023, modified at 06:15, May 30, 2023

China is currently facing an unprecedented heat wave. With more than 36 degrees recorded Monday in Shanghai, this May is the hottest month in a century in this city. And Shanghai is not the only one concerned, the whole country is experiencing exceptional temperatures.

The consequences are already clearly visible in China. Beyond the scorching heat and the hum of air conditioners in big cities, the countryside is devastated. Spring planting in rice fields in the center of the country is already sunburned and vegetable prices have soared by more than 20% year-on-year.

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Temperatures exacerbated by climate change

David Karoly is a climate specialist at the University of Sydney, explaining this phenomenon. "What is happening in particular this year is the extreme nature of this heat wave in China and these very high temperatures are being exacerbated by climate change. Climate change increases the risk of having extreme temperatures making these heat waves more frequent and intense."

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All countries in the region are also hit by an exceptional heat wave this year. But according to UN experts, China is 30 times more exposed than others to climate change. The fault to its galloping urbanization, and its bulimia of energy. Coal in particular, which is highly polluting and emittes CO2.