China reports first deaths from heatstroke amid record temperatures

BEIJING (Reuters) – At least two people died from heatstroke in a Chinese city, and many others fell ill, as temperatures hovered around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for an eighth day on the east coast.

Over the next three days, most areas south of the Yangtze River, which flows into the sea at Shanghai, are expected to warm to between 37°C and 39°C, with temperatures in parts of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces exceeding 40°C, meteorologists said Thursday. .

After being sweltering in the hottest July in observed modern history, China has been hit by extreme heat, especially in the east and south of the country. The capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, recorded an all-time high of 41.9°C on August 3.

Emergency services in Shenzhen, a city of 18 million people in Guangdong province, said they made 88 emergency home calls for heat-related illnesses between Aug. 1 and Aug. 6.

Two men, one in his 50s and the other in his 60s, later died, according to a statement released Wednesday night.

China does not provide a number of heat-related deaths, although national media outlets occasionally report deaths, citing local officials.

In 2022, China was hit by the worst heatwaves since 1961, with many parts of the country enduring a 79-day hot spell from June 13th to August 30th.

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said 554 people died or went missing that year “due to natural disasters.”

Heat-related deaths can be difficult to categorize, as a fatality due to heatstroke could be classified differently if the cause of death was a heart attack or organ failure.

In a 2023 report published in the medical journal The Lancet, heatwave-related mortality in China was estimated at 50,900 deaths in 2022, doubling from 2021.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Miral Fahmy)