Universities in eastern China are scrambling to upgrade their dormitories with air conditioning, and one that allows students to sleep in a cool library has attracted attention in the health of students and staff in recent record temperatures.
According to the State-owned Hubei Daily (Jimu News), a student at Qingdao University in Shandong Province suffered from a stroke and the school will upgrade student accommodation during the summer vacation.
The university said a staff member there died Sunday morning after showing signs of “physical distress”, without saying whether it was related to the heat wave. Jimu News said the staff were the supervisors of the dormitory.
On Monday, a total of 28 locations in central Henan and eastern Shandong provinces issued the worst alerts.
According to Qingdao Daily, temperatures soared to 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest since 1961 records.
Qingdao University did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, and is one of at least six universities in Shandong, announcing plans to upgrade student accommodation in recent days.
Yantai Nanshan University, also located in Shandong, said on Monday it could allow students to stay overnight in the library as it prepares to work in the student hall.
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Video footage released by Jimu News showed dozens of students sitting on the floor, sitting in an air-conditioned supermarket to avoid heat.
The pressure on the Chinese power grid is accumulated. According to state broadcaster CCTV, national electricity loads soared to a record 1.47 billion kilowatts as demand for air conditioners soared.
The announcements will raise concerns that Chinese institutions are prepared for extreme weather events, which scientists say will be exacerbated by global warming.
In 2022, China was hit by the worst heat wave since 1961, with many parts experiencing a 79-day heat spell from mid-June to late August.
According to a 2023 report published in the Lancet Medical Journal, there were about 50,900 heat wave-related deaths in China that year.
The official death toll was not disclosed at that time. China does not provide regular heat-related deaths.
(Reports by Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Liz Lee and Qiaoyi Li; Editors by Andrew Heavens)
