The experiment is cruel, but instructive: a man measures the temperature on the ground, 65°C on the pavement heated by the sun, then places an ant there. He counts, “yi, er, san” : at the third second, the ant curls up and dies. The video, taken in Dayang, Jiangsu Province, north of Shanghai, circulated on Chinese social media on July 14. For the past week, China has been facing an exceptional heat wave.
Across the country, 84 cities have issued red alerts for the heat wave, for temperatures exceeding 40 ° C. In Shanghai, the mercury rose to 40.9 ° C in the shade on July 13, equaling a record set in 2017. On the same day, in Chongqing, in the center, it reached 41.3 ° C. Although the country, accustomed to high heat in summer, is generally well equipped with air conditioning, this heat wave leads to an increase in energy consumption, to the point that the authorities of several provinces have taken rationing measures to preserve the electrical network. Harvests are also in danger, already pushing the price of certain foodstuffs up.
The heat wave of recent days is not an isolated phenomenon: the month of June was already the hottest that China has known since 1961. In July, several deaths were reported by the Chinese media, in Xi’an and in the provinces of Sichuan and Zhejiang. After a brief respite this weekend, the thermometer should panic again from Wednesday July 20 in the provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian in particular, with temperatures between 39 and 42 ° C, announced the Administration. meteorological of China.
“Stay in bed”
Traditionally, summer in China is marked by “sanfu”three periods of about ten days marked by high temperatures and high humidity, where it is necessary “stay in bed”, between mid-July and mid-August. This year, these high temperatures are expected to last longer – until August 24, the weather administration estimates – only to be interrupted by the heavy rains that hit the country every summer. That’s about forty days to “stay in bed”…
But not everyone has this possibility. Dozens of cities affected by outbreaks of Covid-19 continue to regularly test their entire population. In sweltering Shanghai and the Yangtze River Basin, residents complain of being cooked in queues leading to testing centers. The task is even more difficult for the health personnel responsible for taking the samples, who are suffocating under the mandatory full suit.
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