Employers in Beijing have been ordered by the government to stop outdoor work after scorching summer heat in the Chinese capital was forecast to reach 40C (104F).
Government departments were ordered to ensure the elderly and ill could stay cool after the city of 22 million people issued a “red alert”, the highest level of a warning system for extreme temperatures.
The government reported on Monday that Beijing recorded 10 days of temperatures above 35C (95F), the longest streak of its kind since 1961.
“Relevant departments and units shall take emergency measures for heatstroke prevention and cooling,” said a city government notice. It told employers to “stop outdoor operations”.
At the same time, flooding has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in southern China.
On Wednesday, the government issued an alert for possible flash flooding in Inner Mongolia in the north, Heilongjiang in the north-east and Tibet and Sichuan in the south-west.
People are enduring torrid temperatures across much of the globe.
The Earth’s average temperature remained at a record high on Wednesday, after two days in which the planet reached unofficial records.
