A relentless, extreme heat wave has descended across large swathes of central, western and northern China, prompting top national regulators to issue the country’s first national heat health risk warning of 2026 on Tuesday. The joint alert from the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration and the China Meteorological Administration has been matched by rapid, targeted action from local governments, which have rolled out comprehensive measures to mitigate heat-related public health risks, stabilize critical power infrastructure, and adjust tourism operations to protect visitor safety.
A broad group of regions have been classified as red alert zones, marking the highest level of heat-related health danger. These at-risk areas span central Hubei Province, north-central Hunan Province, central Guizhou Province, central and southeastern Chongqing, central and eastern Sichuan Province, southeastern Henan Province, southern Anhui Province, northwest Gansu Province, central Shaanxi Province, and sections of Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Chongqing became one of the hardest-hit jurisdictions, with the city’s Meteorological Observatory issuing its first red heat warning of the year early Tuesday that covered all 31 of the city’s districts and counties. Forecasters project peak daily temperatures in the region will climb to between 40°C and 42°C. In response, Chongqing’s housing and urban-rural development commission has enacted strict mandatory safety rules for outdoor construction work: all exterior construction activities must be paused when daily high temperatures reach or exceed 40°C to prevent life-threatening heatstroke among workers. To expand free cooling access for local residents, 44 decommissioned civil air defense facilities across 11 Chongqing districts have been converted into public cooling shelters and opened at no cost.
Neighboring Hubei Province issued a provincial-level orange heat warning Tuesday morning, with forecasts calling for temperatures to surpass 40°C in parts of Shiyan, Enshi and Yichang on Wednesday. The sustained extreme heat has triggered a dramatic spike in electricity demand as residents run air conditioning and other cooling systems. By 2 p.m. Tuesday, the total load on Wuhan’s power grid hit an all-time record of more than 18.3 million kilowatts, though local power providers confirmed that supply remained stable and adequate to meet demand. State Grid Wuhan Power Supply Company projects the city’s peak summer power load could climb above 19 million kilowatts before the heat wave eases.
Anhui Province is bracing for a unique mix of extreme heat paired with intermittent heavy rainfall over the coming days, according to provincial meteorological forecasts. By 3 p.m. Tuesday, local weather agencies across Anhui had already issued 41 separate heat alerts, with Qingyang and Jingxian counties upgrading their warnings to orange level, signaling expected highs above 37°C within a 24-hour window.
Across all heat-affected regions, officials have put in place social safety and public health protections: mandatory heat allowances are being distributed to workers required to perform their duties in high temperatures, particularly outdoor laborers. Hospitals have established fast-track green channels specifically for heatstroke patients to speed up access to urgent care, while local community health centers are running targeted public education campaigns focused on high-risk groups: the elderly, children, and outdoor workers.
As rising temperatures drive increased demand for cool getaways, tourism authorities have also implemented new safety protocols to protect visitors. In Dunhuang, Gansu Province, the popular Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring Scenic Area has deployed a dedicated professional emergency rescue team that can reach any ailing visitor anywhere in the site within 10 minutes, according to Zhao Suling, manager of the scenic area’s tourist center. In Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, regional tourism officials have advised all scenic spots to adjust public visiting hours, launch early-morning and after-dark entry programs, and reschedule open-air performance events to avoid the hottest parts of the day.