Several Chinese provinces log hottest August on record: weather service

Swathes of China logged the hottest August on record last month, the weather service said, as much of the northern hemisphere comes to the end of a summer of scorching temperatures.

Average air temperatures in the megacity of Shanghai, the provinces of Jiangsu, Hebei, Hainan, Jilin, Liaoning and Shandong as well as the northwest region of Xinjiang "ranked the hottest for the same period" since records began, according to an article on the weather service's news portal.

A further five provinces chalked up their second-hottest August, while seven more endured their third-hottest.

"Looking back at the past month, most parts of China have experienced a hotter summer than in previous years," the weather service said in the article published Sunday.

Several cities, including the major population centres of Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chongqing, also saw more "high temperature days" -- typically when the mercury breaches 35 degrees Celsius -- than in any August since records began.

Although the heat is expected to recede across much of the north as autumn begins, "it is still too early to end completely", the weather service said.

China has seen a summer of extreme weather, from heatwaves across much of the north and west to devastating floods in central and southern regions.

The country is the leading emitter of the greenhouse gas emissions scientists say are driving global climate change.

Beijing has pledged to bring planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.