China to Hold Nationwide Survey on Population Changes

Chinese tourists visit the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Chinese tourists visit the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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China to Hold Nationwide Survey on Population Changes

Chinese tourists visit the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Chinese tourists visit the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Oct 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

China's National Bureau of Statistics said it will conduct a nationwide sample survey from Thursday to "accurately" monitor population changes and better plan economic and social policies, as authorities struggle to boost a fall in births.
The survey, which will run until Nov. 30, comes after the bureau conducted a similar poll in 2023.
Beijing is urgently trying a variety of measures to incentivize young couples to have children after China posted a second consecutive year of population decline in 2023, Reuters reported.
Rapid aging has become a growing concern for policymakers, with China's cohort of those aged 60 and older expected to rise at least 40% to more than 400 million by 2035, equal to the populations of Britain and the United States combined.
The survey will focus on urban and rural areas to "accurately and timely monitor and reflect the development and changes in population" and help formulate "national economic and social development plans," the bureau said in a statement.
Local governments and personnel will be held accountable for any "illegal acts" during survey work, and all sectors of society must "actively support and cooperate" with the survey, it said.
Population development has often been linked to the strength and "rejuvenation" of China in state media, amid the declining birth rate and widespread concerns by citizens on the difficulties of raising children.
Chinese health officials said in September that they would focus more efforts on advocating marriage and childbirth at appropriate ages and called for shared parenting responsibilities to guide young people towards "positive perspectives on marriage, childbirth and family.”
Many young Chinese are opting to remain childless due to high childcare costs, an unwillingness to marry, or put their careers on hold in a traditional society where women are still seen as the main care-givers and where gender discrimination remains rife.
The number of marriages in the first half of this year fell to its lowest level since 2013, official data showed.
China last conducted its once-in-a-decade census of the entire population in November 2020, which showed the population grew at the slowest pace since the first modern survey in the 1950s.



Eastern Half of US Braces for More Long Days of Dangerous Heat

A kid cools off in Crown Fountain in Millennium Park as temperatures climbed to over 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), in Chicago, Illinois, on June 21, 2025. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP)
A kid cools off in Crown Fountain in Millennium Park as temperatures climbed to over 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), in Chicago, Illinois, on June 21, 2025. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP)
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Eastern Half of US Braces for More Long Days of Dangerous Heat

A kid cools off in Crown Fountain in Millennium Park as temperatures climbed to over 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), in Chicago, Illinois, on June 21, 2025. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP)
A kid cools off in Crown Fountain in Millennium Park as temperatures climbed to over 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), in Chicago, Illinois, on June 21, 2025. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP)

Tens of millions of people across the Midwest and East braced Sunday for another sweltering day of dangerously hot temperatures as a rare June heat wave continued to grip parts of the US.

Most of the northeastern quadrant of the country from Minnesota to Maine was under some type of heat advisory Sunday. So were parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi, The Associated Press reported.

The temperature had already reached 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 degrees Celsius) in the Chicago area by 7:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasts called for heat indices of between 100 and 105 degrees F (37.7 to 40.5 degrees C).

The heat index in Pittsburgh was expected to top 105 F. The temperature in Columbus, Ohio, was 77 F (25 C) at 8:30 a.m. Highs there were expected to reach 97 F (36 C) with a heat index around 104 F (40 C).

Forecasts called for a heat index of 100 F in Philadelphia on Sunday, with a 108 F (42.2 C) heat index on Monday.

The city’s public health department declared a heat emergency starting at noon Sunday and ending Wednesday evening. Officials directed residents to air-conditioned libraries, community centers and other locations, and set up a “heat line” staffed by medical professionals to discuss conditions and illnesses made worse by the heat. At Lincoln Financial Field, officials said each fan attending Sunday’s FIFA World Cup match would be allowed to bring in one 20-ounce (0.6-liter) plastic bottle of water.

Sunday marked the second straight day of extreme heat across the Midwest and East Coast. Heat indices on Saturday hit 103 F (39.4 C) in Chicago and 101 F (38.3 C) in Madison, Wisconsin, turning that city's annual naked bike ride into a sticky and sweaty affair.

Minneapolis baked under a heat index of 106 F (41.1 C). The actual temperature was 96 degrees F (35.5 degrees C), which broke the old record for the date of 95 F (35 C) set in 1910, according to the weather service.

The heat is expected to persist into the coming week, with the hottest temperatures shifting eastward. New York City is expected to see highs around 95 F (35 C) on Monday and Tuesday. Boston is on track for highs approaching 100 F (37.7 C) on Tuesday, and temperatures in Washington, D.C., were expected to hit 100 F on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Meteorologists say a phenomenon known as a heat dome, a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere that traps heat and humidity, is responsible for the extreme temperatures.

Mark Gehring, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Sullivan, Wisconsin, said this level of heat is not uncommon during the summer months in the US, although it usually takes hold in mid-July or early August. The most unusual facet of this heat wave is the sheer amount of territory sweltering under it, he said.

“It's basically everywhere east of the Rockies,” he said, referring to the Rocky Mountains. “That is unusual, to have this massive area of high dewpoints and heat.”