BEIJING, July 12 (Reuters) - China's commercial capital of Shanghai and dozens of other Chinese cities baked in scorching temperatures as unusually hot weather buckled roads, popped roof tiles and drove people to seek the cool in raid shelters underground.
By 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Tuesday, 86 cities had issued red alerts, the highest in a three-tier warning system, warning of temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) in the next 24 hours. Construction and other outdoor work are to be halted.
Shanghai, which is still fighting sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19, told its population of 25 million to prepare for hot weather this week after issuing its first red alert in five years on Sunday. Since record-keeping began in 1873, Shanghai has had just 15 days of temperatures exceeding 40 degrees.
Vendors reported surging sales of ice cream, melons and crayfish chilled in liquor, a popular summertime dish. At a sprawling Shanghai wildlife park, eight tonnes of ice are used each day to keep lions, pandas and other animals cool.
In a photograph shared on social media, a COVID health worker in a full-body hazmat suit hugged a one-metre (3-foot) tall block of ice by a road.
"This year, the heat has arrived a little earlier than before," said Shanghai resident Zhu Daren, as her five-year-old son played at a water fountain.
"Although it is just July, I feel the warm weather has already reached the high point. Basically, you need to turn on the air-conditioning when you get home and put on some sunscreen when you go out."
THREE FURNACES
China's summer of contrasts this year has brought havoc from heatwaves and heavy rainfall in turn. Authorities citing climate change have warned against disasters from mid-July, usually the hottest and wettest time of year.
In a town in the southern province of Jiangxi province, a section of a road arched up at least 15 cms (6 inches) because of the heat, state television showed.
Nanjing, one of China's three "furnaces" notorious for their searing summers, has opened its underground air-raid shelters to residents since Sunday, with its war-time bunkers equipped with WiFi, books, water dispensers and even microwave ovens.
The city issued a red alert on Tuesday.
In Chongqing, the second "furnace", the roof of one museum literally melted, with the tiles of a traditional Chinese roof popping as the heat dissolved the underlying tar. The city called a red alert on Monday.
Chongqing has also deployed sanitation water-spraying trucks to keep its roads cool.
This week, high temperatures, humidity and ultraviolet radiation are also forecast to envelop the central city of Wuhan, the third furnace, as it is called.
