BJ Breaks 50-Year Record as Summer Temperatures Soar to 39°C

原创 Charles L. theBeijinger

In what will surely be a long summer, Beijing set a new local record as temperatures soared to 39 degrees Celsius on Monday, marking the highest recorded temperature in 50 years.

The mercury-breaking temperature was recorded at a southern Beijing weather observatory, shattering the previous record that was set in 1968, reported Beijing News.

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However, some Chinese news outlets weren't as accommodating. The People's Daily only begrudgingly admitted to this week's sweltering weather, limiting Beijing's record-breaking temperature to just 18 years for the 38.3 degrees Celsius that was set in 2000. And yet, some people have uploaded screenshots of weather apps that show local temperatures to have reached 40 degrees Celsius.

Even as tourists tried to protect themselves from the debilitating summer rays, Beijing residents flocked to their air conditioning for a respite from the heat as demand for electricity peaked at 16.840 million kiloWatts at 4.53pm.

The record-breaking summer temperatures come on the heels of a winter that set a few records of its own. Beijing's dryest winter in 47 years finally came to an end when its 146-day-long dry spell was snapped by a number of unusually late spring snowfalls.

And as much as we welcome the sunny climes of Beijing's summer, it seems as though the local weather is too impatient for the seasons. After 45 days of operation, the outdoor ice rink at Beijing's Houhai Park came to an end on Feb 12 only to be replaced by boating season a month later.

After Monday's heat wave, temperatures are expected to come down for the rest of the week as an incoming cold front brings temperatures down to 33-36 degrees Celsius along with scattered overnight showers. But, seeing as it's still only the beginning of June, we imagine there's still time this year for Beijing to break its all-time high-temperature record of 40.1 degrees Celsius set on Jun 5, 1968.

Images: Beijing News (163.com), Weibo.com