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Nick Yang

Extreme heat in China’s southwestern Chongqing municipality has left the city parched and several mountains ablaze.
At least four districts have reported fires since Thursday, forcing 1,500 people from 540 households to be evacuated.
The latest blaze broke out in Banan district on Sunday, while another in Jiangjin district that had been burning since Thursday was not put out until Monday morning.
“That’s terrible. When I wake up, my home is full of soot,” said a Weibo user who said they lived 37km (23 miles) from a fire on Jinyun mountain in Beibei district that broke out on Sunday.
Chinese province of Sichuan warns of ‘particularly severe’ power shortages
“The air is very turbid and thick with smoke, and the sky appears light red in the distance,” said another Weibo user who said they worked in Chongqing’s urban centre.
The government attributed the fires to “continuous high temperature and drought” in a statement on Monday morning.
More than 5,000 rescue personnel and seven helicopters were deployed to extinguish the fires. By Monday morning, they had been effectively suppressed and no casualties had been reported, according to a statement by the Chongqing municipal government.
“Rescue work, clean-up of the residual fire, investigation into the cause and review of the burned area have been carried out in an orderly way,” the statement said.


Because of the high risk of wildfires, the municipality – China’s largest in area – has sealed off mountains in its 38 districts and counties to strictly control fire sources.
On Sunday, a wildfire also broke out in Luzhou in neighbouring Sichuan province, which is also experiencing a heatwave, and spread to Chishui in Guizhou province. The fires have been controlled and no casualties have been reported.
Chongqing, along with some southern provinces, is experiencing China’s worst heatwave in six decades. As many as 66 rivers and 25 reservoirs across the municipality have run dry amid extreme hot weather and drought.

Most districts had temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), with Beibei district recording 45 degrees on Thursday – the highest temperature ever recorded in Chongqing.
Last week, the municipal government said more than 800,000 people had been affected by the heatwave, and nearly 270,000 had difficulty accessing drinking water.
China imposes more power restrictions as heatwave drives record demand
The central government sent drought relief supplies to the city on Sunday, including petrol and diesel generators, water pumps and other equipment valued at 11.67 million yuan (US$1.7 million), state broadcaster CCTV reported.
China’s national observatory on Monday issued its 11th red alert for high temperatures – the most severe warning in a four-tier system – for some parts of the country, including Chongqing. The region’s long hot spell is expected to ease from Wednesday as a cold front moves south, with Chongqing expected to see relief from Friday.


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Fires blaze in southwest China as extreme heat scorches region

Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality has sealed off mountains in its 38 districts and counties to control wildfires. Photo: Weibo

Gu Yunfeng and his wife Zhong walk on a dry riverbed of the Yangtze River in Chongqing on Saturday. The river, China’s longest, is approaching record-low water levels due to drought. Photo: Reuters

China heatwave: Sichuan warns of ‘particularly severe’ power shortages as heatwave and drought continue

Parts of China are facing the worst drought in 60 years. Photo: AFP

China heatwave and drought to continue, with power supply hit, shipping halted and crops at risk

Low water levels in the Yangtze River amid a heatwave warning in Wuhan, Hubei province. Photo: Reuters

A farmer examines his perished sweet potato plants in Fuyuan village in Chongqing. Photo: Reuters

‘Save on gas’: China’s heatwave ‘cooks’ live shrimp in a bag of water on way home from supermarket

A woman in China’s Henan province is stunned after finding a bag of live prawns she’d bought had been ‘cooked’ alive during a heatwave. Photo: SCMP composite

The story of the dead shrimp was among the most searched for items on Chinese search engine Baidu this week. Photo: Handout

A woman uses a fan as she wears a cloth that protects her from the sun on a street, amid a heatwave warning in Shanghai. Photo: Reuters

China expands power restrictions as heatwave drives demand to record levels

A summer heatwave in China has driven electricity demand to record levels. Photo: AFP

A summer heatwave in China has driven electricity demand to record levels. Photo: Reuters

Yangtze River, lakes at record low levels as heatwaves, drought hit southern China

The Yangtze River, pictured in Wuhan, Hubei province, is at its lowest level for this time of year since records began in 1865. Photo: Imaginechina

Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province entered the dry season earlier than it ever has since records began. Photo: China News Agency

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China

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At least four Chongqing districts report wildfires, forcing evacuation of 1,500
More than 5,000 rescuers help extinguish fires in the municipality, which is experiencing the worst heatwave in six decades



Around 1,500 evacuated as Chongqing districts report wildfires, but municipal government says the flames have been suppressed with no casualties.


Fires blaze in southwest China as extreme heat scorches region

At least four Chongqing districts report wildfires, forcing evacuation of 1,500 More than 5,000 rescuers help extinguish fires in the municipality, which is experiencing the worst heatwave in six decades

At least four Chongqing districts report wildfires, forcing evacuation of 1,500

More than 5,000 rescuers help extinguish fires in the municipality, which is experiencing the worst heatwave in six decades