Universities in eastern China scrambled to upgrade their dorms with air conditioning, and one let students sleep in cooler libraries, after near record temperatures raised concerns about the health of students and staff.

中国东部多所大学因接近历史纪录的高温引发对学生和教职工健康状况的担忧，纷纷紧急为宿舍加装空调，还有一所大学让学生到凉爽的图书馆过夜。

Qingdao University in Shandong said one student had suffered from heat-stroke, and that it would upgrade its student accommodation over the summer break, Jimu News, an arm of state-run Hubei Daily, reported.

山东青岛大学称有一名学生中暑， 并表示将在暑假期间对学生宿舍进行升级改造，据国有湖北日报旗下的极目新闻（Jimu News）报道。

One member of staff there died on the morning of July 5 after showing signs of "physical distress", the university added without saying whether that was linked to the heatwave.

该校补充称，7月5日上午有一名教职工出现“身体不适”症状后死亡， 但未说明是否与热浪有关。

The staff member was a dormitory supervisor, Jimu News said.

极目新闻称，该教职工是一名宿舍管理员。

A total of 28 locations across central Henan and eastern Shandong provinces issued their most severe alerts for extreme heat on July 7.

7月7日，河南中部和山东东部共28个地区发布了极端高温红色预警。

Parts of the coastal city of Qingdao saw temperatures soar to 40.5 deg C over the weekend, just 0.5 deg C below the highest recorded there since records began in 1961, according to the official Qingdao Daily.

据官方《青岛日报》报道，周末，沿海城市青岛部分地区气温飙升至40.5摄氏度， 仅比1961年有记录以来的最高气温低0.5摄氏度。

Qingdao University, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, was one of at least six colleges to announce plans to upgrade student accommodation in recent days.

青岛大学未立即回应路透社的置评请求， 该大学是近日至少宣布计划升级学生宿舍的六所高校之一。

Yantai Nanshan University, also in Shandong, said on July 7 it would let students stay overnight in libraries as it prepared to work on the student halls.

同样位于山东的烟台南山学院7月7日表示， 在学生宿舍准备施工期间，将允许学生在图书馆过夜。

Video footage posted by Jimu News showed scores of students sitting on the floor in air-conditioned supermarkets to escape the heat.

极目新闻发布的视频显示，为躲避高温，许多学生坐在有空调的超市地板上。

The heatwave has piled pressure onto China's power grid.

热浪给中国电网带来了巨大压力。

The national electricity load surged to a record 1.47 billion kilowatts on July 4 as demand for air conditioning spiked, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

7月4日，随着空调需求激增，全国用电负荷飙升至创纪录的14.7亿千瓦， 据中央电视台报道。

The announcements will fuel concerns over Chinese institutions' preparedness for extreme weather events, which scientists say are exacerbated by global warming.

这些举措将加剧人们对中国高校应对极端天气事件准备工作的担忧， 科学家称全球变暖加剧了极端天气事件。

In 2022, China was hit by the worst heatwaves since 1961, with many parts enduring a 79-day hot spell from mid-June to late August. According a 2023 report published in the medical journal The Lancet, there were about 50,900 heatwave-related deaths in China that year.

2022年，中国遭遇了自1961年以来最严重的热浪，许多地区从6月中旬到8月下旬经历了长达79天的高温天气。 根据医学期刊《柳叶刀》发布的2023年度报告，当年中国约有50,900例与热浪相关的死亡病例。