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Beijing Sizzles with Hot Weather Alert at Highest Level.

A woman walks with cold patches on her forehead and neck amid a red alert for heatwave in Beijing, China June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
A woman walks with cold patches on her forehead and neck amid a red alert for heatwave in Beijing, China June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
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Beijing Sizzles with Hot Weather Alert at Highest Level.

A woman walks with cold patches on her forehead and neck amid a red alert for heatwave in Beijing, China June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
A woman walks with cold patches on her forehead and neck amid a red alert for heatwave in Beijing, China June 23, 2023. (Reuters)

Beijing on Friday upgraded its warning for hot weather to "red" - the highest in a color-coded alert system - with many parts of the Chinese capital roasting in temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

 

The official temperature for the capital, which is measured from its southern suburbs observatory, hit 40C just after 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) on Friday, according to the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Observatory.

 

"This is the first time since the establishment of the observatory that there has been a high temperature of more than 40C for two consecutive days," Zhang Yingxin, chief forecaster of the Municipal Meteorological Observatory, said at a press briefing. The observatory was founded in 1951.

 

On Thursday, the maximum temperature in the city of nearly 22 million people breached 41C and shattered the record for the hottest day in June.

 

A weather station in its southern suburbs, considered to be Beijing's main gauge, recorded 41.1C in the afternoon. The previous June high was logged on June 10, 1961, when the mercury hit 40.6C.

 

The daily maximum logged on Thursday was the city's second-highest in history, just below the 41.9C recorded by Beijing on July 24, 1999.

 

China has a four-tier weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. A red alert indicates the temperature is set to rise above 40C within 24 hours.

 

The China Meteorological Administration said on Thursday it expected high temperatures to persist across much of the country's north for the next eight to ten days.

 

High temperature monitoring and warnings would continue on a rolling basis in places including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Inner Mongolia, it added.

 

In Tianjin, a northern Chinese port city with a population of over 13 million, Thursday's temperature reached 41.2C, smashing local records.

 

Local authorities on Friday warned the extended period of high temperatures could have health impacts, including an increased risk of stroke, and advised people to drink at least 1.5 liters of water daily and limit their time outdoors.

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Monkeys Who Recently Died in Hong Kong's Zoo Had Been Infected with Melioidosis

Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS
Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS
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Monkeys Who Recently Died in Hong Kong's Zoo Had Been Infected with Melioidosis

Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS
Giant tubeworms on the seafloor surface at 2,500 meters water depth at the East Pacific Rise, a volcanically active ridge located where two tectonic plates meet on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in this undated photograph.CC BY-NC-SA Schmidt Ocean Institute/Handout via REUTERS

Nine monkeys who died in Hong Kong's oldest zoo in two days this week had been infected with an endemic disease, possibly after some digging work near their cages, officials said on Friday.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said in a press briefing that the animals in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens contracted melioidosis and the disease later caused them to develop sepsis, according to The AP.

Yeung stressed that such infections typically occur through contact with contaminated soil and water and that there is generally no danger to humans from contact with infected animals or people.

“We're saddened by the passing of the nine monkeys,” he said.

Eight monkeys were found dead on Sunday, and another died Monday after displaying unusual behavior. The deceased animals were a De Brazza’s monkey, a common squirrel monkey, four white-faced sakis and three cotton-top tamarins — a species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

According to Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection, melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is widespread in soils and muddy water.

Yeung said the park conducted digging work to repair some irrigation pipes under the flower bed near the monkey cages in early October and that the deaths might be related to that.

He said the monkeys might have come into contact with the bacteria after the park's staff walked into their cages with possibly contaminated shoes. Another possibility is that some infected monkeys had close contact with other monkeys, he said.

“The incubation period for melioidosis in primates is about a week and this matched with the period after the soil digging work,” he said.

Edwin Tsui, the controller of the center, said the incident only happened in a single zone and its impact on Hong Kong residents would be very low.

Yeung on Monday held an urgent interdepartmental meeting about the deaths with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Department of Health.

Another De Brazza’s monkey also displayed unusual behavior and appetite but offiicials said its condition remained stable on Friday.

The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens — the oldest park in the former British colony — fully opened to the public in 1871. It is a rare urban oasis in the downtown Central district of the financial hub, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.