Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.
A. swept B. previously C. relocated D. surging E. contaminate F. contain G. hit H. dimming I. commercially J. elevated K. extremely |
Wildfires rage as China’s Chongqing suffers unrelenting record heat wave
From: CNN August 23, 2022
Thousands of emergency responders are battling to 11 fast-spreading wildfires in China’s southwestern city of Chongqing amid a weeks-long, record heat wave in the region.
The fires, which have been visible at night from parts of the downtown area, have 12 forests and mountains around the mega city in recent days. On social media, residents in downtown Chongqing complained of smelling smoke inside their apartments, while others posted pictures of burning embers from the fires reaching their balconies.
Municipal authorities have not yet reported any casualties and said the fires are being kept under control, according to an update on Tuesday morning. More than 1,500 residents have been 13 to safe zones, while 5,000 firefighters, police, local officers and volunteers, and seen firefighting helicopters have been dispatched to help combat the blazes, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The fires in Chongqing were the result of “spontaneous combustion” mainly caused by 14 high temperatures, Bai Ye, a professor at China’s Forest and Grassland Fire Prevention and Extinguishing Research Center told state-run Beijing Daily.
The wildfires are another knock-on effect of a crippling heat wave China’s worst since 1961 -that has swept through southwestern, central and eastern parts of the country in recent weeks, with temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in more than 100 cities.
They are also part of a global trend of wildfires that have ravaged areas from Australia to California, with scientists saying 15 global temperatures due to human-driven climate change increase the risk of these events.
China’s heat wave has also brought 16 demand for air conditioning and reductions in hydropower capacity due to drought conditions that have 17 the country’s 18 critical Yangtze River and connected waterways.
Earlier this week, Sichuan province, neighboring Chongqing, extended temporary power outages at factories in 19 of the region’s 21 cities. The power cuts will now run until at least Thursday, in a move the local government says will ensure residential power supplies. Last week, the province’s capital city Chengdu began 19 lights in subway stations in a bid to save electricity. Chongqing enacted an order for factories to suspend operations for seven days starting last Wednesday, according to state media.
On Tuesday morning, China issued a red alert heat warning, the highest of four color-coded levels, to at least 165 cities and counties across the country. Chinese authorities have 20 said more than 900 million people across the country have been affected by the heat wave this summer.