Drought, heatwaves trigger bushfires in China's Chongqing

Beijing, Aug 22 (IANS) Continued drought and heatwaves have triggered multiple bushfires in the mountainous areas of China's Chongqing Municipality, authorities said on Monday.Over 5,000 rescue personnel, including firefighters, armed forces, and professional rescue teams, as well as seven helicopters have been mobilised to put out the fires, reports Xinhua news agency. More than 1,500 people have been evacuated to safe places.No casualties have been reported so far.Large parts of China have experienced heatwaves recently. Chongqing, for example, is experiencing the most severe sustained hot weather since 1961.China's national observatory on Sunday continued to issue a red alert for high temperatures, the most severe warning in its four-tier warning system. It is the 10th consecutive day that the National Meteorological Centre has issued a red alert for high temperatures.The ongoing heatwaves are forecast to wane gradually starting from August 26.
--IANS ksk/

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