Many parts of China have been baking in scorching temperatures recently. And experts predict that the hot weather will last for quite a while yet.

Qiao Lin, a senior engineer from the Beijing Climate Center, said: "The hot weather is caused by the so-called subtropical anticyclone. From mid June to early July, the high point of a subtropical anticyclone is around 20 degrees North Latitude. The subtropical anticyclone leads to abnormal rain patterns followed by unusually hot temperatures. "

In June, the average temperature in China was around 22 degrees Celsius, much higher than in previous years.

In some parts of China, temperatures soared to a scorching 42 degrees. Rainfall in the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze River decreased by 3 to 5 percent compared with previous years.

Experts predict that in the following 10 days, high temperatures will hit most of the regions south of the Yangtze River. They also warn that droughts might occur in some areas.

In related news, as the temperature rose above 38 degrees yesterday in Beijing, the zoo's three polar bears, the animals most affected by the heat, seemed decidedly more comfortable than their human friends languishing in the sun.

The bears have been keeping their cool by licking their lunch served frozen in large ice cubes.

Keeper Xiao Ruihong said staff stuff beef, fish and fruit into 10-kilogram blocks of ice each morning.

The polar bears also take turns to sit in an air-conditioned room, where the temperature is fixed at 26 degrees.

The polar bears also have their very own king-sized swimming pool. Their neighbors, the brown bears and wolves, sadly, have to share one.

As for zoo's larger residents such as the elephants, who have neither air conditioning nor a swimming pool, relief comes in the form of extra showers.

Zhuang Zhuang, a 9-year-old African elephant, spends most of his time under the shade of a tree or a shelter in his pen, continually waving his trunk in search of the scent of water.

Over in Shanghai, ponchos and umbrellas were the order of the day yesterday, as the first heavy rains in weeks gave the municipality a much-needed reprieve from the heat.

People breathed a sigh of relief as the 39-degree heat on Tuesday gave way to a comfortable 26 degrees yesterday.

Power output in the city, a source of concern this summer, hit a record 16.64 million kilowatts shortly after mid-day on Tuesday. The power grid has a capacity of 17 million kilowatts.

(China Daily July 7, 2005)