Scorching heat ravages China

BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese meteorological authorities said Monday hot weather continues to scorch many parts of the country.

With temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius, at least 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities are sweltering in summer heat, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said when issuing a level yellow heat alert.

The heatwave is affecting large parts of southern China, eastern Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, northwestern Gansu Province, and north China's Beijing, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Shanxi Province, the NMC said in a bulletin on its website.

Temperatures might hit 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, it added.

In Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, lakes and rivers have turned green and red as algae blooms flourish in the hot weather.

The Xingqing Lake in Xingqing Palace Park has turned crimson.

"Red algae is thriving in the heat wave with pollutants flushed into the lake by rains in May," said park spokesman Liang Zibin.

A river surrounding the ancient city of Xi'an has turned green with algae and other water plants.

In Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia, electric fans and air conditioners are selling out quickly.

"Medium- and low-priced air conditioners are all sold out," said a salesperson for Haier, a major Chinese electrical appliance brand.

Drought is affecting corn and potato crops in Inner Mongolia, the regional meteorological bureau said.

Nearly 400,000-square-kilometers of land in Inner Mongolia -- 37.8 percent of the region's total land area -- is suffering from drought, with some 147,000 square kilometers of it being hit by severe drought.

East China's Fujian Province stepped up medical treatment efforts at the temporary relocation settlements for residents evacuated after the rainstorms and floods in late June.

Medicine, water and food have been dispatched to the settlements, schools and other buildings housing the more than 1 million evacuees.

In Fujian, at least 78 people died and 79 went missing in the rainstorms.