More scorchers forecast, but there is relief in sight
People shelter under the umbrella across from Shanghai's landmark Wukang Mansion amid another scorcher.
Shanghai can expect relief from the extreme heat from Tuesday, when this year's 14th solar term, chushu, or end of heat, begins.
Highs are forecast to cool down to around 32 to 34 degrees Celsius, with lows around 28.
But before then, highs are again expected to top 40 degrees on Friday and Saturday.
Wednesday was not as hot as previous days due to cold air from the north with highs round 35 degrees.
It also marked the first time that the city took a break from around-39-degree scorchers since August began.
The continued extreme days have also pushed the city's consumption of water and electricity up dramatically, according to the local water authority and the State Grid Shanghai Company.
The city's daily water consumption hit a new high for this year on Monday – 8.97 million cubic meters, a 0.87 percent increase from the same period last year.
But that is still well below the city's daily water capacity of 12.21 million cubic meters.
A total of 3,500 electricity maintenance workers are on 24-hour standby to keep the city's power grid operating normally.
The average time for workers to arrive at a problem site is 18.4 minutes and the average repair time is 25.4 minutes, said State Grid officials.
State Grid Shanghai maintenance worker checks transmission lines.
