China's Shanghai records hottest May day in 100 years, says weather department

For the first time in 100 years, China's industrial hub Shanghai recorded its hottest Mayday on Monday (May 29), the city's meteorological department said in a statement.

By a full degree increase, the Xujiahui station at 1:09 pm recorded 36.1 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking the 100-year record for the highest temperature recorded in the month of May.

Previously, the highest temperature was 35.7 degrees Celsius, which was recorded in 1876, 1903, 1915 and 2018.

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The temperature at the station climbed even higher to 36.7 degrees Celsius later in the afternoon, the weather department stated.

A user on the Chinese social media platform Weibo said, "I almost got heatstroke, it's really hot enough to explode."

One resident told the news agency AFP, "It's an environmental problem, the world is going to get hotter and hotter. I have the feeling that summers are becoming much hotter every year. I'm turning on the air conditioning sooner than before."

Scientists and weather experts claimed that global warming is exacerbating adverse weather, with several countries in Southeast and South Asia having witnessed severe hot daysin recent weeks.

Parts of India saw temperatures reaching almost 46 degrees Celsius. The national capital Delhi recorded its highest temperature above 46 degrees. In Mumbai, at least 11 died due to heat stroke on a single day.

In India's neighbouring country Bangladesh, the capital Dhaka also sawits hottest day in almost 60 years.

The World Weather Attribution group stated that Thailand's Tak recorded its highest temperature at 45.4 degrees Celsius, while the Sainyabuli province in Laos recorded 42.9 degrees Celsius.

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on 'Climate Change' warned that every increment of global warming will intensify multiple times.

In early May, the World Meteorological Organisation warned that 2023-2027 will be the warmest five-year period ever recorded, saying greenhouse gases and EI Nino combined to soaring temperatures.

The UN's meteorological department said there is a two-third chance that one of thesefive years could possibly see soaring temperatures, exceeding the ambitious target set in the Paris Accords in limiting climate change.

The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agreeing to cap global warming "well below" two degrees above the average levels measured between 1850 and 1900, and 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.

(with inputs from agencies)

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