THIS is a superlative that the people of continental China would rather not apply to their country: it is currently experiencing the most extreme heat wave ever recorded anywhere in the world.

China's own official weather data go back to 1961, and its historical weather record, although obviously not as detailed the older it gets, dates back to the 4th century BCE (Before the Common Era). Modern weather records elsewhere in the world began around 1880, but there is some continuous data dating back to the mid-17th century, and usefully descriptive records traceable to the 1st century. In none of those has there ever been a heat wave of such magnitude in terms of duration, the area of land affected or variance from 'normal' temperatures as there is now in China.