Beijing's work from home order amid scorching summer heat

Beijing Heatwave: Beijing recorded 10 days of temperatures above 35 C (95 F), longest streak since 1961.

Beijing ordered employers to stop outdoor work amid scorching heat in the Chinese capital as temperatures were forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Government departments were ordered to ensure the elderly and ill could stay cool, issuing a “red alert"- the highest level of a warning system for extreme temperatures. “Relevant departments and units shall take emergency measures for heatstroke prevention and cooling,” said a city government notice. Employers should “stop outdoor operations", it said.

Beijing Heatwave: A security guard wearing an electric fan on his neck wipes his sweat on a hot day in Beijing. (AP)

Beijing recorded 10 days of temperatures above 35 C (95 F), longest streak since 1961. This comes as flooding forced thousands of people to flee their homes in southern China as the government issued an alert for possible flash flooding in Inner Mongolia in the north, Heilongjiang in the northeast and Tibet and Sichuan in the southwest.

China to face 'multiple natural disasters' in July

Earlier authorities warned of extreme weather and "multiple natural disasters" in the month of July. Heavy rain in parts of the country led to thousands being evacuated in central and southwestern China, Xinhua news agency reported as weather agencies warned that the country will face “multiple natural disasters in July, including floods, severe convection weather, typhoons and high temperatures.”

Across the globe, people are enduring high temperatures as the Earth’s average temperature remained at a record high, after two days in which the planet reached record highs.