Society

Shanghai mercury 'will soar past 40 C'

By Gao Changxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-14 09:10

SHANGHAI - The meteorological center on Friday morning forecast that for the first time in the city's history, the maximum temperature this summer will soar past 40 C.

Rumors are widespread that the country's met department has always been reluctant to admit to temperatures higher than 40 C so as not to pay high-temperature allowances.

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Shanghai's meteorological center said the temperature on Friday was 31 C to 40 C, while raising its orange high-temperature alarm to red, the highest level.

Meanwhile, the national meteorological center said most southern regions will not see cooler days any time soon, with temperatures in some parts of Sichuan and Jiangxi provinces set to soar above 40 C.

Chongqing municipality recorded its highest temperature this year, 42.4 C, on Tuesday, while a record 56 counties in Jiangxi province issued a high-temperature alert on Wednesday.

Rumors are rife on China's online forums that the met never admits to temperatures above 40 C to avoid high-temperature allowances, paid leave and other benefits that workers are entitled to on extremely hot days.

"This year, there have been a number of officially 38 C and 39 C days, which are actually hotter than 40 C. I think the meteorological centers are definitely tampering with the figures because companies have to pay allowances to workers once the mercury hits 40 C," said Wang Yin, 26, an office clerk in Shanghai.

"I carried a thermometer with me on Wednesday and I recorded the temperature as 43 C when they were saying it was 36 C."

According to statistics from the Shanghai meteorological bureau, there have been 13 days hotter than 37 C but cooler than 40 C this year.

Li Jinyu, chief service officer at the bureau, rejected the rumors, saying there are no "hidden rules" that prevent the bureau from reporting temperatures higher than 40 C.

"The way we measure the temperature is complicated. To make it simple, what we give is more of an average temperature. There might be some places that are much hotter than others," she said.

"But we don't tamper with the figures."

However, another official with a district-level meteorological center in Shanghai suggested an incentive for the centers to be "cautious on reporting 40 C".

"40 C means red alert and some government contingency plans would be activated when a red alarm comes along," said the official who refused to be named.

"In case the forecast turns out to be inaccurate, we might be in for some flak from the government."

A local media report said that on April 10 the Shanghai meteorological center admitted it had wrongly forecast the temperature 7 C higher than actual.