No end to our long hot summer

By Steffie Lu  |   2008-7-6  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Two children lie on the wet marble of a fountain in People's Square in downtown Shanghai yesterday as the temperature rose to 38.8 degrees Celsius, the highest this year. More in photo gallery

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THIS year's temperature record was broken again in Shanghai yesterday, when the mercury hit 38.8 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. It was the city's sixth straight day of temperatures above 35 degrees, weathermen said.

The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau issued an orange heat alert at 9:05am yesterday and it remained in force until 6:30pm. The recent heat has been caused by a strong subtropical high, forecasters said.

The heat will continue today and tomorrow, with the maximum temperature still ranging between 37 and 38 degrees. The high temperature is expected to drop a little from Tuesday, but will remain about 35 degrees. Little rain is forecast for this week and sunshine will prevail, forecasters said.

Power demand in the city dropped to near 19.5 million kilowatts yesterday from Friday's 20 million, because most offices were closed. But the call center of the Shanghai Municipal Electric Company received about 34 percent more calls about circuit breakdowns than usual, officials said.