Shenzhen City in south China's Guangdong Province experienced the hottest days of the year this past weekend, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of outpatients in hospitals.

The city's weather observatory recorded the maximum temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius in Buji Subdistrict of Longgang yesterday and 36.3 degrees Celsius in Wutong Village in Luohu on Saturday. It issued its first high temperature warning this year Saturday noon, and did not remove the warning until seven hours later.

The hot weather resulted in a sharp rise in the number of outpatients at Beijing University Shenzhen Hospital, the biggest public hospital in Futian District.

"The number of patients (at the transfusion zone) doubled today," said a nurse at the hospital's transfusion area Saturday night.

On Saturday night, the transfusion area of the hospital was so crowded that even emergency patients had to wait for more than one hour before receiving transfusion.

A man anxious to have his sick son treated shouted loudly at the hospital staff, who had to call police to calm him down. The hospital had to add extra hands to the transfusion area at about 8:30 p.m.

But a young mother said the waiting time at Beijing University Shenzhen Hospital was much shorter than at Shenzhen Children's Hospital, also in Futian District. "When we went to the children's hospital, we were told that over 300 people were queuing in front of us," she said. The desperate mother took her son to Beijing University Shenzhen Hospital instead.

Shenzheners will get some relief from the scorching heat this week, however, according to the observatory.

The maximum temperature today will be 33 degrees Celsius but will drop to 30 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the observatory. Showers will also cool down the city in the first half of this week.

(Shenzhen Daily June 25, 2007)