Cities across China were on red alert for heatwaves on Monday, as tens of millions of people were warned to stay indoors and record temperatures strained energy supply.

Swathes of the planet have been hit by extreme and deadly heatwaves in recent months, from Western Europe in July to India in March to April.

Scientists say the extreme weather has become more frequent due to climate change, and will likely grow more intense as global temperatures continue to rise.

China is no exception and is sweating through one of its hottest summers on record.

In the eastern provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, the mercury rose above 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) over the weekend, reaching all-time highs in two cities.

People in areas under red heat alerts -- mostly concentrated in the southeast and northwest -- are being ordered to "cease all outdoor activities" and "pay special attention to fire prevention," the national meteorological service said in multiple notices over the weekend.

Saturday marked the "Great Heat" day on China's traditional calendar, long recognised as the hottest period of the year, but this summer has been exceptionally warm.

Earlier this month Shanghai recorded its highest air temperature -- 40.9C -- since records began in 1873.

The scorching heat sent hundreds of people to the beach in Fujian's Xiamen city on Sunday, while others hid from the sun under hats and face coverings.

China's power grid is also feeling the strain from increased demand for air conditioning, with the country's largest power plants generating at a record capacity in mid-July, according to energy industry publication Sxcoal.

Some local governments have resorted to turning off street lamps and raising peak period electricity tariffs for factories this month.

The ongoing heat wave, which has struck the lower reaches of the Yangtze River especially hard, will also "adversely affect local crops," warned Fu Jiaolan, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre.

WHO says heatwave caused 1,700 deaths in Spain, Portugal
Copenhagen (AFP) July 22, 2022 - The World Health Organization's European office on Friday said the heatwave baking Europe has caused over 1,700 deaths on the Iberian peninsula alone, calling for joint action to tackle climate change.

"Heat kills. Over the past decades, hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of extreme heat during extended heatwaves, often with simultaneous wildfires," WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement.

"This year, we have already witnessed more than 1,700 needless deaths in the present heatwave in Spain and Portugal alone," Kluge added.

The regional director stressed that exposure to extreme heat "often exacerbates pre-existing health conditions" and noted that "individuals at either end of life's spectrum - infants and children, and older people - are at particular risk".

Responding to a query by AFP, WHO Europe explained that the figure is a preliminary estimate based on reports by national authorities, and that the toll had "already increased and will increase further over the coming days".

The true number of deaths linked to the heatwave won't be known for weeks, he said, adding "this scorching summer season is barely halfway done".

"Ultimately, this week's events point yet again to the desperate need for pan-European action to effectively tackle climate change," Kluge said.

The regional head of the UN health body said governments need to demonstrate will and leadership in implementing the Paris Agreement, which set the goal of limiting end-of-century warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels -- and preferably not beyond 1.5C.

He said that members of the WHO's European region -- 53 countries and regions including several in Central Asia -- "have already demonstrated that they can work together on urgent threats to global health," and that it was "time for us to do so again."

Call for max working temperature cap after EU heatwave deaths
Paris (AFP) July 24, 2022 - Trade unions called Monday for the European Commission to impose maximum temperature limits for outdoor workers, after three people died while on shift in Madrid during last week's withering heatwave.

While a handful of member states have legislation limiting working hours in excessive heat, the thresholds vary and many nations have no nationwide heat limits.

According to research by the polling agency Eurofound, 23 percent of all workers across the EU were being exposed to high temperatures a quarter of the time. That figure rises to 36 percent in agriculture and industry and to 38 percent for construction workers.

Previous research has linked high temperatures to a number of chronic conditions and an elevated risk of workplace injury.

"Workers are on the frontline of the climate crisis every day and they need protections to match the ever-increasing danger from extreme temperatures," said Claes-Mikael Stahl, deputy secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation.

The ETUC said that most EU nations have no maximum temperature legislation for workplaces, although Belgium, Hungary and Latvia all have some curbs on activity.

In France, where there are currently no working temperature limits, 12 workers died due to heat exposure in 2020 alone, the union said.

- 'Can't ignore the danger' -

Spain, where three workers died in extreme heat last week, does have temperature limits in place, but only for certain professions.

A 60-year-old street cleaner on a one-month contract died in Madrid on Saturday, after he collapsed in the street from heatstroke while working the previous day.

At the time temperatures in Madrid neared 40C.

A 56-year-old warehouse worker in a Madrid suburb also died on Saturday after suffering heatstroke while on the job.

Security forces on Thursday announced the death of a worker due to heat in Paracuellos de Jarama, on the outskirts of the capital.

Last week, the city reached a deal with unions to restrict manual street cleaning work to below 39C.

With global average temperatures more than 1.1C warmer than the pre-Industrial era, Europe is being hit with more and more record-breaking hot spells.

Global heating will continue to make deadly heatwaves more frequent and intense with ever higher levels of atmospheric carbon pollution, scientists say.

The UN's climate science panel this year warned that tens of millions more people would be subjected to extreme heat days under 2C of warming; countries' climate plans have Earth on course to warm by 2.7C.

"Heatwaves can be fatal for people working unprotected from the sun, as we've already witnessed in Spain this summer," said Stahl.

"Workers are on the frontline of the climate crisis every day and they need protections to match the ever-increasing danger from extreme temperatures."

He said the EU needed continent-wide legislation on maximum working temperatures, since "the weather doesn't respect national borders".

"Politicians can't continue to ignore the danger to our most vulnerable workers from the comfort of their airconditioned offices," he said.

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France to order air-conditioned shops to keep doors shut
Paris (AFP) July 24, 2022
Air-conditioned shops in France will be ordered to keep their doors closed or risk being fined, a minister said Sunday announcing an upcoming rule to combat energy wastage. Leaving the doors open when the air conditioning is on leads to "20 percent more consumption and... it's absurd," French Minister of Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher told RMC radio. The minister said there were also plans to restrict the use of illuminated signs. "In the coming days, I will issue two decrees: ... read more