Weather tracker: Shanghai reports record high temperature of 36.7C

Heatwave continues in south-east Asia as temperatures exceed 40C in vast swathes of region

Shanghai in China has reported a record high temperature of 36.7C, breaking the previous record by 1C. The new high temperature on 29 May comes amid the heatwave affecting southern and eastern Asia since mid-April. Vast swathes of the region have had temperatures exceeding 40C, with parts of Pakistan reaching almost 50C in mid-May.

South-east Asia has been affected particularly badly, with record high national temperatures in Laos (43.5C), Vietnam (44.2C), and Thailand (45.4C). The heatwave is attributed to low amounts of rainfall over the previous winter, resulting in drier soils that can heat up more quickly than moist soils, thus exacerbating the effect.