China's top meteorological authority activated a level IV emergency response for high temperatures — the lowest level in a four-tier system — on Friday, with scorching heat and heavy rains expected to continue across large sections of the country in the coming days.

Zhang Fanghua, chief forecaster of the National Meteorological Center, said at a news briefing on Friday afternoon that 19 national-level weather observatories in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and Shandong provinces logged record high temperatures from Thursday to Friday.

Beijing recorded temperatures of 40 C for two consecutive days, the first time since the city's weather monitoring station was established in 1961, according to the city's meteorological center.

Zhang Yingxin, Beijing's chief forecaster, said that one of the city's main weather stations in the southern suburbs logged a record high of 41.1 C for June on Thursday afternoon. The previous June high was when the mercury hit 40.6 C in 1961. On Friday, the same station registered temperatures exceeding 40 C at 1:30 pm.

In total, more than 80 percent of the city's 500-plus weather stations recorded temperatures of 39 C on Thursday, while around half of them logged highs exceeding 41 C.

On Friday morning, Beijing upgraded its warning for hot weather to red — the highest level. It was the first time the city has issued a hot weather red alert since adopting a new categorization protocol in June 2015.

Beijing's meteorological center said that most parts of the capital will see high temperatures of 37 C to 40 C from Friday to Saturday.

Zhang said that cloudless skies, long summer days and dry air are factors contributing to the persistent heat. However, the heat wave is expected to subside on Monday, she said.

Nationwide, an orange alert for high temperatures — the midlevel of a three-tier, color-coded warning system — was renewed on Friday morning.

The administration forecast that heat waves will continue for 10 days in parts of North China, as well as some parts of Henan and Anhui provinces.

To handle responses to the severe heat, it urged regular monitoring of conditions, cross-regional coordination, and consistent forecasting and early warning services. The administration also required authorities in affected regions such as Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, Shandong and Henan provinces, as well as the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, to initiate or adjust local emergency response levels based on the local situation.

The heat wave will cause surging power demand and increase the risk of heat stroke, said Zhang Fanghua, from the National Meteorological Center, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

Special attention should be paid to improving protection for people working outdoors, ensuring the supply and distribution of energy and controlling wildfires.

Ahead of this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, which runs from Thursday to Saturday, the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control released a guideline on health precautions to deal with heat waves.

Vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women and the elderly, people with chronic diseases such as diabetes and respiratory illnesses, as well as farmers, construction workers, sanitation staff and couriers are among high-risk groups during extreme heat, it said.

Meanwhile, heavy rains were forecast to hit parts of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, as well as Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces through Saturday morning. The National Meteorological Center renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms on Friday morning — the lowest level in the color-coded system.

Some regions will likely be battered with high winds, thunder and rainstorms, with precipitation expected to reach up to 180 millimeters in some places, the center said.