Beijing orders outdoor work to be halted as scorching summer heat soars

BEIJING (AP) — Employers in Beijing have been ordered to stop outdoor work after scorching summer heat in the Chinese capital was forecast to reach 40 degrees centigrade (104 Fahrenheit). Government departments were ordered to ensure the elderly and ill could stay cool after the city of 22 million people issued a “red alert,” the highest level of a warning system for extreme temperatures. The government reported earlier that Beijing recorded 10 days of temperatures above 35 C (95 F), the longest streak of its kind since 1961. At the same time, flooding has forced thousands of people to flee their homes in southern China.