Heat wave continues; break is coming

Meteorologists have renewed a yellow alert for high temperatures, the second lowest of a four-tier warning system, for the 18th consecutive day on Tuesday as a lingering heat wave continued to scorch many parts of the country.

Some areas in Liaoning, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian provinces, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Chongqing municipality were expected to experience temperatures of 37 C to 39 C on Tuesday, with some regions reaching 40 C, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Weaker cold air from the north and a subtropical high-pressure system that is further north this year are to blame for the wide-ranging heat, the observatory said.