The capital of Beijing, China, experienced its 27th consecutive day with temperatures exceeding 35°C on July 18.
On July 19, Chinese media reported that tourists flocked to see a huge thermometer displaying real-time surface temperatures at the Huo Yan Mountain (a famous tourist destination in the Xinjiang autonomous region), which read 80°C.
Despite the high temperatures, visitors managed to take selfies next to the thermometer on July 16. This day also marked a record for a remote town in Xinjiang, where air temperatures soared to 52.2°C—an unprecedented level in China.
The previous record was 50.3°C, also set in Xinjiang back in 2015.
The huge thermometer at Huo Yan Mountain. (Photo: Xinhua).
Tourists visiting Huo Yan Mountain on June 27. (Photo: Xinhua).
On the same day, 31 weather stations in Turpan City (west of Huo Yan Mountain) reported air temperatures exceeding 45°C, with five stations recording maximum temperatures above 50°C.
Meanwhile, on July 18, Beijing marked its 27th day of temperatures above 35°C since the beginning of the year—an all-time high. Previously, Beijing experienced such conditions for 26 days in the entirety of 2000.
This extreme weather coincided with the visit of John Kerry, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, to China.
On his third working day, July 19, Kerry expressed hope for the two countries to collaborate on addressing climate change independently, without letting current bilateral tensions interfere. According to Kerry, this is a global threat requiring the leading economies of the world to work together to resolve it.
