High temperature records in northern Chinese cities were broken as dry, warm air mass controlled the area on Saturday.

 

In Nangong City of Hebei Province, mercury rose to 39.3 degrees Celsius on Saturday afternoon, making it the hottest city in the country and breaking the provincial high temperature record during the same period of time.

 

Ten counties and cities in the central and southern part of Hebei saw temperatures rise to above 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday, including the provincial capital Shijiazhuang, where the temperature reached 38.5 degrees Celsius, the second-highest in the country.

 

Beijing's temperature reached 37.2 degrees Celsius, breaking the city's record in May since 1951.

 

The capital city is mulling a new indexed heatstroke forecast that differentiates heliosis probabilities for people of different age and sex, according to Huang Zhuo, a researcher with the national meteorological center.

 

The current heatstroke forecasts are based on temperature, humidity and wind force but take no account of pathology of people with varied physique.

 

The new heatstroke index will be added to weather forecast before the Beijing Olympics, Huang said.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2007)