10 Chinese dead as heatwave hits Shanghai

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(Reuters) Shangai ? More than 10 people have died in China?s commercial hub Shanghai, a local health official said on Wednesday as the city swelters in its highest temperatures for at least 140 years.

Much of China is in the grip of a summer heat wave, and the China Meteorological Administration issued a high temperature warning for several eastern and central provinces, saying temperatures could reach 41?C on Wednesday.

Leng Guangming, a spokesperson at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said there had been more than 10 victims of heat stroke up to last Friday in the city. He declined to give a more precise or more recent number.

Temperatures surpassed 38?C in almost all areas of Shanghai on Wednesday, peaking at 39.8?C in the central Xujiahui district in the afternoon, according to local weather statistics.

Authorities issued a ?red? heat wave warning in the afternoon ? the highest level ? but later lowered it to ?orange?.

Experts blame a subtropical high pressure system and a lack of rain for the record-breaking heat wave, according to state media.

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