Sweltering city issues 6th heat alert but relief on the way

The mercury is expected to drop back to 35 degrees Celsius and below starting from Thursday when the subtropical high pressure pushes to the east from the city, forecasters said.

Shanghai issued its sixth yellow heatwave alert on Sunday with a high of 35 degrees at the benchmark Xujiahui weather station. Suburban Qingpu District recorded the highest temperature — 36.7 degrees.

This week the sweltering condition, with the high hitting 37 degrees, will last through mid-week under dominance of the subtropical high pressure, which is moving northward and stretching to the west.

But from Thursday, it will move a bit further from the city to the east.

The high will return to 35 degrees on Thursday and stay at 34 degrees over the weekend.

Despite some afternoon thundershowers on Wednesday, skies will be mostly dry and cloudy this week.

The current scorching weather has, meanwhile, raised the risk of heat stroke among local residents.

Zhoupu Hospital in the Pudong New Area said it recently received four patients suffering from serious heat stroke. They were all middle-aged and elderly women, with the oldest one is in her 80s.

Two of them now are in stable condition, while the other two are still undergoing emergency treatment.

Meanwhile, the Pudong New Area People's Hospital received an old man who apparently stayed in his room without air-conditioning and fainted. Two days ago, it also treated a 51-year-old patient who suffered serious heat stroke after walking several miles under the hot sun along with his friend.

According to Deng Xingqi, a doctor at Zhoupu Hospital, heat stroke often happens to the elderly because they are reluctant to turn on the air-conditioner when at home and sometimes insist in working in a heatwave. And it's easier for those ailing from diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes to get heat stroke.

Wan Jian with the Pudong New Area People's Hospital said the hottest period of the day is often between 10am and 4pm, when heat strokes happen easily and often. But he also warned that the temperature in the room with air-conditioning should not be too low; it's better to set it between 26 and 28 degrees.