Heat wave returning after brief reprieve from rain-bearing typhoons

After a typhoon provided a short break from a persistent heat wave in July, sultry weather will return to large swathes of China through the weekend, according to national weather authorities.

"China has had the hottest July since 1961, and it will see the heat continue in southern and eastern regions in early August," China Meteorological Administration spokesman Zhang Zuqiang said on Thursday.

Temperatures rose above 35 C on Thursday in Shanghai and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and the heat will spread to the east and south, which baked for over two weeks in July.