Drought, heat trigger bushfires in China's Chongqing

CHONGQING -- Persistent drought and heatwaves have caused multiple bushfires in the mountainous areas of Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, according to the municipal publicity department on Monday.

Over 5,000 rescue personnel, including firefighters, armed forces, and professional rescue teams, as well as seven helicopters have been mobilized to put out the fires. More than 1,500 people have been evacuated to safe places.

No casualties have been reported so far.

Large parts of China have experienced heatwaves recently. Chongqing, for example, is experiencing the most severe sustained hot weather since 1961.

China's national observatory on Sunday continued to issue a red alert for high temperatures, the most severe warning in its four-tier warning system. It is the 10th consecutive day that the National Meteorological Center has issued a red alert for high temperatures.

The ongoing heatwaves are forecast to wane gradually starting from Aug 26, according to the China Meteorological Administration.