S: Hi. Welcome to CBN Friday Special. I’m Stephanie.
I: Hi, I’m Ivy.
S: Hey Ivy, I was on social media yesterday and found something interesting. There seems to be a new trend that emerged in the last few weeks with growing numbers of internet users sharing pictures of their versions of what they call an “iced Chineseno”.
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I: “Iced Chineseno”?
S: It’s a drink that people mix water and ice cubes with a small bottle of the Chinese herbal medicine “Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid“, as a way to cool down and prevent from having heatstroke during the record heatwave. And the name “iced Chineseno” is coined by netizens to describe the mixture to what they say looks and tastes like Starbucks’ signature drink “iced Americano”.
I: Oh, really? I do love a nice cup of iced coffee during hot summer days. I want to try this new Chinese-styled Americano now!
S: Not so fast. Doctors have warned against mixing a traditional Chinese medicine liquid with iced water. About 5ml to 10ml of this liquid formula is to treat symptoms such as "headache, dizziness and feeling of heaviness in the head, vomiting and diarrhoea”. Although it’s an over-the-counter medicine, people shouldn’t use it just like they drink beverages, especially when doctors are advising the public against it, as it’s risky and they could experience side-effects like cramps in the stomach and vomiting. Though “iced Chineseno” isn’t recommended, you can still “make everything mintier” by adding peppermint and ice to your drinks.
I: Oh I see, thanks for the tips. The 2022 summer is clearly marked with extreme heat, which is probably how many people would remember it. On social media, people complained about skyrocketing power prices for air conditioning and some places have introduced power restrictions for designated industries. Agriculture has also been impacted, as extreme temperatures threaten growth and yields of many economic crops such as tea and oranges.
Posts of fun pictures on social media show zoos serving iced fruits and water to relieve fur-covered animals from the extreme heat while there have also been multiple reports of outdoor workers dying of heatstroke.
S: Right. Multiple Chinese provinces and regions continued to endure "roast mode" in August after 23 consecutive high temperature alerts were issued by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). Readings over 40 degrees Celsius, an unimaginable temperature even for summer, has become the new normal this year for Chinese cities. Even 40 degrees cannot qualify a city to enter the top 10 hottest cities in the country. The threshold for the ranking is as high as 42 degrees, according to CMA data.
Since mid-June, most areas of China have been hit by intense heat waves. Hot air has blanketed many parts of China including Shanghai, Southwest China"s Sichuan Province and East China"s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, affecting more than 900 million people and over half of the national territory in mid-July, with many cities in the grip of a heatwave for more than a month and temperatures soaring to above 44 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological authority.
The Beginning of Autumn, which fell on August 7 this year, failed to deliver lower temperatures. The CMA has issued 12 consecutive red alerts for high temperatures starting from Aug 12. As of August 19, hot weather has lasted for 68 days. The heatwave has also registered the largest number of counties and cities exceeding 40 degrees since records began.
Globally, intense heat waves have hit many parts of the world, including the United States, many European countries, East and Central Africa, India, Pakistan, Chile and the Republic of Korea.
I: So in today’s program, we’re going to talk about why summer 2022 is so hot both in China and globally.
There’re a couple of causes to the unusual and lingering heatwaves in 2022. Experts explained the major reason to be the abnormal persistence of an extensive subtropical anticyclone. The anticyclone system means sinking airflows prevail and cause a significant rise in the near-surface temperatures. The sinking airflows also lead to clear weather with less cloud cover, which increases solar radiation and causes higher temperatures on the ground.
The West Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), as one of the most important components of the East Asian summermonsoon, is thekey synoptic pattern controlling daily weather conditions in east China during the monsoon season. This year, the subtropical high pressure was abnormally west-north, and caused a large amount of downdraft, which would increase the temperature and pressurisation in the process of sinking, resulting in rare high temperature weather in the northern regions of China.
In our country, the Southwest China"s Sichuan Basin is most affected by WPSH. Influenced by the "heat dome" phenomenon, the air near the ground will be heated by the sun"s radiation and goes up, but because of high pressure which is like a cage in the lid, the hot air prevents cold air’s entrance, leading to the upper high-pressure return to the ground. Then it becomes a cycle, just like being in a pressure cooker, resulting in the temperature of the heat inside the dome getting higher and higher, that’s the extreme heat people felt.
For Chongqing residents, the warning of drought and high temperature is not anything rare. Many Sichuan and Chongqing residents even started making fun of themselves being "old acquaintances”, or “lao shu ren” in Chinese, which literally means “well-cooked persons”.
S: Good one! But jokes aside, the crucial Yangtze River has dried up in parts as a result of the worst heatwave on record, and many swaths of the nation fell into drought. To boost downstream supplies, the Three Gorges Dam, China"s biggest hydropower project has increase water discharges by 500 million cubic meters over the 10 days starting Aug 18, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
China is deploying funds and developing new supply sources to deal with the impacts on crops and livestock. Some livestock has been temporarily relocated to other regions, the Ministry of Finance said earlier this month, adding it would issue 300 million yuan in disaster relief.
The heat also forced authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan, home to around 84 million people and a key manufacturing hub,to order the shutdown of all factories last week to ease a power shortage.
And the Yangtze is just one of many rivers and lakesacross the northern hemisphere that are drying upand shrinking amid relentless heat and low rainfall, including Lake Mead in the US and the Rhine River in Germany.
I: According to the Ministry of Water Resources, since July, rainfall in the Yangtze River basin has been 40% lower than its normal level. Some areas have been without effective rainfall for more than 20 consecutive days. This is the time when it used to be water abundant in the Yangtze River basin.
But with increased rainfall and falling temperatures in recent days, Sichuan, a major hydroelectric power generator in the country, has seen its generating capacity recovering and the overall power shortage largely easing. Sichuan announced to lower its energy supply emergency response level from level I to level II starting on Monday. As of midday Sunday, many factories have fully resumed production, except forenergy-consuming enterprises.
S: The persistence of an anticyclone system has not only affected China but also European countries and American states along similar latitudes, and it is part of a La Nina phenomenon.
Historic heatwaves and droughts have set the tone for Europe this summer, which has been gripped by blistering heat, devastating forest blazes, little precipitation and dried-up rivers and lakes. Heatwaves scorched Europe earlier than usual, especially in the southern, western and central parts. Multiple countries, including Spain and Britain, have reported record high temperatures, while Portugal recorded a new high of 47 degrees Celsius in mid-July.
The Institute of Atmosphere and Climate Science of Italy"s National Research Council said in early August that this year is on pace to be the hottest and driest year in Italy on record dating back to 1800.
Wildfires have become more frequent. This year, some 660,000 hectares of European land have been burned by large fires as of Aug. 13, a record high at this point of the year since data collection began in 2006, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
I: And last but not least: global warming. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere during the industrialisation process, in addition to excessive deforestation of forest resources, resulting in the melting of permafrost in the Arctic region, trillions of tons of methane buried underground are gradually released into the atmosphere, exacerbating the vicious circle of the greenhouse effect. Experts also noted that with climate change accelerating, extreme weather and abnormal weather systems could become more frequent.
S: The summer heat and drought has put pressure on agricultural production. For example in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province, known as “the city of hairy craps”, this year’s production of the most sought-after autumn delicacy from the Yangcheng Lake has fallen sharply, because high temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius since July has affected the last moulting of hairy crabs. As the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching and demand is surging, price of hairy crabs is expected to be driven up by 40%.
I: But the heat has unexpectedly warmed up some other businesses, like ice-making. According to Meituan’s data, from the end of July to the beginning of August, ice sales on the platform jumped 182% from the same period last year, while the number of vendors selling "edible ice" also surged nearly 90%. The ice-making equipment enterprises is also outstanding. Snowman, a leading producer of ice-making equipment, is expected to realize the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 8 million yuan to 10 million yuan in the first half of 2022, a significant increase of 128.16%-135.20%.
S: Going on a summer getaway trip is another great option in one of the longest summers in history. Research data showed that searches for "summer resort" on online travel agency platforms continued to rise in July and August this year, with the popularity of keywords such as water park, rafting and forest, rising sharply. Statistics from Tongcheng.com also show that night tours in cities and boat tours in the evening have become popular choices for those who want to escape daytime searing heat.
As of Aug 28, several domestic online travel agencies, including Ctrip, Qunar, Fliggy and Tuniu have posted their data of this year"s summer vacation. During the first month of the summer vacation, long-haul tourism saw a steady recovery after the cautionary asterisk mark was removed from China"s travel code apps. Data from Tuniu showed in July, 84% of travellers chose independent long distance trips.
I: For example, Heilongjiang Province, the northernmost province of China which is characterised by its cool climate and unique landscape, is experiencing a boom in local tourism with visitors coming from all over the country to enjoy its summer attractions. In July, the number of travel orders in Heilongjiang Province saw a 65%increase compared with that of June, making it a popular destination for a summer vacation, according to China"s major online travel agency Trip.com Group. Recently, the occupancy rate of two five-star hotels in Harbin reached 85%, three four-star hotels on Central Street, one of the city"s main tourist attractions, hit around 80%. The overall occupancy rate in the city"s star-rated hotels is significantly higher compared with the same period last year, data from local tourism bureau showed.
S: As the back-to-school season began yesterday, the tourism market is expected to undergo a down month before peaking again on the National Day holiday in October. And that’s it for today, stay cool and have a nice weekend. Bye!
近日，“藿香正气冰中式”风靡网络。人们效仿冰美式的做法，将藿香正气水加入冰水中，一款“中西合璧”的网红饮品就此诞生。更有甚者，将藿香正气水直接加到冰美式里，以期达到“醒脑”与“清热”的双重作用。
当然，藿香正气水并不是解暑饮品。四川省肿瘤医院中西医结合副主任医师王天宝亲自体验了这款“藿香正气冰中式”后，提醒：藿香正气水是药不是饮料，没病可不能随便炫。
三伏已过，还有一周就到中秋了，但部分地区的天气比较炎热，如果不能喝“藿香正气冰中式”，饮料里加点冰和薄荷也未尝不可。
回想起今年的盛夏季节，很多人的共同回忆就是一个字：热。
6月中旬起，我国大部分地区就提前开启了热浪模式。8月12日起，中央气象台连续发出12个高温红色预警。截至8月19日高温天气已持续68天，除黑龙江外，全国其他所有省级行政区都出现了高温，28个省级行政区出现了40摄氏度，26个省级行政区出现了破全年纪录的气温实测，西北、青藏、华北、西南、中南、华东、华南的高温全部达到历史极端水平。
导致2022年的高温的原因众多。其中一个主要的原因是异常的地球副热带高压。影响我国的副高主要是“西太平洋副高”，它常年停留在海洋上，随着太阳直射点向北移动，会逐渐西伸北抬，登陆影响我国多个地区。今年副热带高压出现异常偏西偏北情况，副热带高压会引发大量下沉气流，气流在下沉的过程中会增温增压，由此导致我国北方地区也出现了罕见的高温天气。
在我国，受副高影响最持久的地区还要数四川盆地。受“热穹顶”现象的影响——靠近地面的底层空气被太阳辐射增温后，膨胀上升，但因为高压像个罩子一样把热空气盖在盖子里，阻止了冷空气的进入，导致又会被上层的高气压压回到地面，如此循环往复，犹如是“高压锅”一样，导致热穹顶内的温度越来越高，造成极端高温。
对于川渝人来说，干旱、高温的预警，并不是一个稀罕的事情，很多当地居民经常调侃自己是“老熟人”。但今年滚滚的热浪背后，还伴随了明显减少的降雨。极端高温炙烤下，川渝地区水利、电力、经济生产等正在经历较大的考验：素有“千河之省”称号的四川，作为水电大省却出现了用电缺口。长江流域多处水位“汛期反枯”，川渝地区的电力缺口加大，用电需求最高负荷屡次刷新纪录，频频号召企业“让电于民”。
据水利部网站消息，7月份以来，长江流域降雨量较常年同期偏少4成；流域大部高温日超过15天，中下游部分地区超过25天；部分地区连续无有效降雨天数超过20天。这带来了长江流域“汛期反枯”的现象。
随着近日四川省气温下降，降雨增多，流域来水逐渐增加，供电能力有所提升，电力供需矛盾得到一定程度缓解，8月29日00:00起四川省突发事件能源供应保障一级应急响应调整到了二级响应。8月28日四川水电日发电能力为4.6亿千瓦时，比前段时间最低值回升了9.5%。截至8月28日中午12点，四川省一般工商业用电已经全部恢复，除高载能行业外，大工业用电正在逐步恢复用电。
全球“高烧”的第二个原因是拉尼娜现象。拉尼娜现象是指赤道中、东太平洋海表温度异常，出现大范围偏冷、且持续时间达到一定条件的冷水现象。连续3年的拉尼娜现象，也对大气环流异常起到“推波助澜作用”，使得副热带高压持续增强，还会导致“越热越干、越干越热”。6月以来的高温，是目前正在持续的拉尼娜现象引起的，尤其是7月中纬度暖高压带发展加强，高温炙烤的土地大范围扩展到美欧多地。比如，今年7月，美国多地发出了高温警报。首都华盛顿和宾夕法尼亚州费城市等地进入高温紧急状态。据报道，美国西南部大部分地区最高气温已经超过38摄氏度，一些地区最高气温达到43.3摄氏度；位于中高纬度地区的英国的气温直逼40.2℃，创下有史以来新高。伦敦救护车服务中心仅7月18日当天就接到了6600通来自伦敦市的高温求救电话；西班牙当地时间7月10日开始，境内最高气温达到39摄氏度至45摄氏度之间，在南部的安达卢西亚自治区等地，白天最高温度甚至达到了45摄氏度；比利时气象学家发布全国范围内高温橙色预警，该国或将遭遇40摄氏度高温天气；德国东北部地区的最高温度有可能超过40摄氏度……
第三个原因则是全球变暖。人类世界的工业化不断加深。将二氧化碳等温室气体被排放到大气当中，此外森林资源又遭受人类过度砍伐，使得北极地区因为冻土层的融化，深埋地下的上万亿吨甲烷也被逐渐释放到大气当中，加剧了温室效应的恶性循环。
暑期的持续高温无疑为能源、农业等多方面都增加了压力。今年7月以来，江苏连续一个多月维持40度左右的高温，影响了大闸蟹最后一次蜕壳，使得今年阳澄湖的大闸蟹产量锐减。中秋临近，大闸收购需求正在激增。然而高温天气造成的大闸蟹普遍减产，直接拉动大闸蟹终端市场价格暴涨40%。
然而，高温天气也让一些平时不起眼的行业意外“出圈”——从写字楼到核酸点，从农贸市场到工业厂房，纷纷成了“用冰大户”。数据显示。7月底至8月初美团外卖上全国冰块销量比去年同期增长182%，售卖“食用冰”商家数量同比去年增长近90%，而北上广深也成为了购买冰块最多的城市。下游“冰块热”，上游制冰设备企业的业绩也十分亮眼。制冰设备龙头企业雪人股份半年度业绩预告显示，2022年上半年，预计实现归属于上市公司股东的净利润800万元-1000万元，同比大幅增长128.16%-135.20%。
除了制冰业的意外爆红，避暑游也成了今年最受追捧的暑期出游选择。机构数据显示，今年7、8月份，平台上以“避暑”为关键词的搜索量持续上涨，其中，水世界、漂流、森林等与避暑相关的关键词热度均大幅上升。在景区选择上，游山玩水、森林公园、海滨岛屿、水世界、漂流成为今年最受用户欢迎的“避暑景区”预订类型TOP5。
除了城市周边游之外，跨省避暑游市场也十分火热。新疆、云南、贵州、内蒙古等地也吸引了来自全国各地的避暑游客。其中， 7月份贵州的旅游总订单量环比上月增长了85%，广东、四川、浙江、重庆、湖南、上海、北京、云南、江苏、湖北成为贵州旅游的主要客源地。
同程旅行指出，由于近期持续高温，用户在出行时间安排上呈现出明显“避暑”的特点，白天“宅”酒店、商场，晚上景区夜游、城市夜游成为用户此阶段出行的“标配”。统计数据显示，面对持续的高温天气，晚上7点后的城市夜游、夜游船、景区夜游等成为避暑人群的热门选择。
Executive Editor: Sonia YU
Editor: LI Yanxia
Host: Stephanie LI
Writer: Stephanie LI, HUANG Ziqing, ZENG Libin
Sound Editor: HUANG Ziqing
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Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.
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编委: 于晓娜
策划、编辑：李艳霞
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