THE highlights of Liu Yuxin’s day working as a food deliveryman are the moments he spends picking up orders from air-conditioned restaurants, which can offer a brief respite from the sweltering temperatures outside.

The 28-year-old man delivers meals in Shenyang, the capital of Northeast China’s Liaoning Province. “This year’s summer heat came earlier than usual, and more people order cold drinks and other cooling takeout treats these days,” said Liu.

Last week, more than 2 million square kilometers of regions in China, covering Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan and Shandong, have been gripped by the sweltering weather, with temperatures surpassing 35 degrees Celsius on some days.

The National Meteorological Center maintained an alert for high temperatures Sunday morning. Three provincial-level regions, namely Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Xinjiang, are expected to see some areas endure scorching heat of over 40 degrees Celsius.

In Liaoning, the summer of 2023 started five days earlier than in previous years. On Saturday, four meteorological stations in Chaoyang City recorded a maximum temperature of 40 to 43 degrees Celsius.

This round of heatwaves is expected to end today, marking the longest high-temperature period western Liaoning has experienced in June since 1995, the local meteorological authorities said.

Meanwhile, Beijing launched for the first time in 2023 an orange alert for high temperatures Friday morning, the second-highest level of its kind.

Governments and enterprises are finding ways to beat the heat.

The hot weather has led to a peak in electricity consumption in many northern cities.

The State Grid Beijing Electric Power Company has deployed 261 troubleshooting teams and 109 power-generating trucks that are on standby around the clock for emergencies.

Jinan in Shandong Province has ordered sanitation workers to suspend outdoor work between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the daytime temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius, and to stop all outdoor operations for the whole day, when the temperature climbs to over 38 degrees Celsius.

Liu Yuxin works for Meituan Waimai, a major food delivery platform in China. It launched an initiative Wednesday, establishing heatstroke prevention stations in many cities, providing deliverymen with sun-proof clothing, beverages and medicines, and optimizing delivery routes to minimize the time they spend outdoors.(Xinhua)