ANIMALS at the Shenzhen Safari Park were kept in air-conditioned rooms and given water and beverages Thursday (July 13) as the city's temperature climbed to 35.6 degrees Celsius, the highest in the year.

"Temperatures at the whole city surpassed 35 degrees Celsius on Thursday, and reached 35.6 degrees Celsius at the Zhuzilin observation station," said weather forecaster Peng Yonggang. Peng said the observatory even recorded 37 degrees at Lotus Hill in Futian District and Bagang in Longgang District, but the figure at Zhuzilin is usually taken as the official one. The observatory has issued a high temperature alert and warned people against staying outdoors for a long time.

In Shenzhen Safari Park, air conditioners and electric fans were turned on to prevent animals from suffering heat strokes. Giant pandas and Francois monkeys, well known for their fear of hot weather, stayed in air-conditioned rooms and were given watermelons, vegetables and Wanglaoji, a kind of herbal tea said to be able to bring down body temperature.

Bears, tigers and lions, which are too big to be moved indoors, were led to pools to keep them cool. They showed less interest in meat than usual. "The animals consumed over 200 kilograms of watermelons a day," said Huang Xianda, a park official.

The temperature will drop slightly to 35 degrees Celsius on Friday. But starting from Saturday, the city will see four days of heavy rain under the influence of the tropical storm Bilis, and the temperature will drop to 28 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

weather report onf the 21 cities in Guangdong

Editor: Wing