Authorities across country meet heat wave threat head-on

With a severe heat wave threatening vast swaths of central, western and northern China, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration and the China Meteorological Administration issued the first national-level heat health risk warning of the year on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, local authorities rolled out measures to prevent health hazards, protect power supplies and adjust tourism.

Several regions are designated red alert zones, with extremely high heat-related health risks. These include central Hubei province, north-central Hunan province, central Guizhou province, central and southeast Chongqing, central and eastern Sichuan province, southeastern Henan province, southern Anhui province, northwest Gansu province, central Shaanxi province, and parts of the Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions.

On Wednesday morning, the Chongqing Meteorological Observatory released the city's first red heat warning of the year covering all 31 districts and counties, where peak temperatures will soar to between 40 C and 42 C.

Chongqing's housing and urban-rural development commission has issued strict safety regulations for construction work in the scorching weather. All outdoor work must halt when the daily temperature hits 40 C or higher to protect construction workers from heatstroke.

To help residents beat the heat, 44 civil air defense cooling shelters across 11 districts have opened to the public free of charge.

The Hubei meteorological observatory issued a provincial-level orange heat warning on Wednesday morning. On Thursday, temperatures in some areas of Shiyan, Enshi, and Yichang, were expected to exceed 40 C.

Soaring temperatures have driven a sharp surge in electricity demand for cooling devices. As of 2 pm on Wednesday, Wuhan's power grid load had reached a record high exceeding 18.3 million kilowatts, while local power supplies remained stable.

According to State Grid Wuhan Power Supply Company, the city's peak power load will likely top 19 million kw this summer.

Anhui will face a combination of rain and high temperatures in the coming days, provincial meteorologists warned.

As of 3 pm on Tuesday, meteorological authorities across Anhui had issued 41 heat warnings. Qingyang and Jingxian counties issued orange heat alerts, predicting temperatures above 37 C within 24 hours.

In the affected regions, allowances are allocated to people who are required to work in high temperatures, especially outdoors. Hospitals have also taken steps to support health, including the creation of expedited green channels for heatstroke treatment. Community health centers are carrying out high-temperature health education focusing on the elderly, children and outdoor workers.

As heat spreads nationwide, demand for cool summer vacations has surged, and various measures have been taken to ensure the safety of tourists.

In Dunhuang, Gansu province, for example, the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring Scenic Area has mobilized a professional emergency rescue team that can reach any sick tourist within 10 minutes, according to Zhao Suling, manager of the area's tourist center.

In Xi'an, Shaanxi province, scenic areas are advised to adjust visiting schedules and launch early-morning and special night entries, while rescheduling outdoor performances reasonably.

Deng Rui, Liu Kun, Liu Boqian and Zhu Youfang contributed to the story.