Over the next three days, temperatures in northern China are expected to rapidly exceed 35 C, according to data released by the China Meteorological Administration. The range of high temperatures will peak around Thursday, with continuous high readings expected in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and other areas.
In contrast, areas along the Yangtze River and further south will experience frequent rainfall in the coming days, with possible heavy rainstorms.
As of Monday, more than half of provincial capital cities in China had already experienced their first high temperatures of the year, most of which arrived earlier than in previous years.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports that with rising temperatures, there is a 98 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will be the hottest on record. The next five years are also set to be the hottest ever. As global warming progresses, the world may see more and stronger extreme high-temperature events, and extreme weather like heatwaves could become the norm.