East swelters while rains lash south

The heat wave has raged on in eastern China over the past two weeks, with Shanghai sweltering under a record high, while the southern coastal regions have been lashed by typhoon-driven rains and gales, the Central Meteorological Center said on Sunday.

Shanghai continued to issue an orange alert, the second highest of four levels, amid the persistent heat wave on Sunday morning. It was the 12th consecutive day of the alert, which could again reach the red level, the Shanghai Municipal Meteorological Center said.

On Friday, Shanghai, China's most populous city, wilted in heat reaching a 145-year record of 40.9 C, the weather center said. It had issued this year's first red alert on Friday.