China opens bomb shelters as emergency cooling centers as temperatures soar over 95 degrees
AP Photo/Andy Wong
- Cities across China opened their bomb shelters as emergency cooling centers last week.
- The country saw a nearly 10-day streak of days above 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The abnormal Chinese heat wave came at the same time the world recorded its hottest day ever.
Cities across China opened bomb shelters as emergency cooling centers for residents to take refuge after a heatwave claimed lives across the country.
After a nearly 10-day streak of temperatures over 95 degrees Fahrenheit concluded on July 3 — an unusual streak that the country hasn't seen since 1961, the Associated Press reported — China turned to its air raid shelters as a reprieve from the heat for its residents.
Over the last week, Chinese cities, including Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Shijiazhuang, which are located all over the massive country, announced employing their bomb shelters as shelters from the heat, according to the AP.
The bomb shelters, many of which were built during the Japanese invasion in 1937, now boast a range of amenities, including seating areas, access to water, refreshments, and heat stroke medicine, according to the AP. Some shelters even have Wi-Fi, TVs, and ping-pong tables.
Insider reported in 2011 that China had around 40 underground bunkers across the country. At the time, many of them were already open to the public as museums.
The AP reported that the abnormal string of scorching hot days killed at least two people in Beijing, citing health authorities who said a tour guide collapsed last Sunday due to the heat and a woman who died from heat stroke last month.
Health authorities in Shaoxing said last Thursday that the city recorded deaths due to the heat wave as well, the AP reported, but the officials did not divulge further details.
Insider reported earlier this month that heat waves across the world are becoming longer, more severe, and more frequent.