Shanghai endured another scorcher on Thursday, the Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month on the traditional Chinese calendar.

The highest temperature of Thursday was 37.7 degrees Celsius, recorded at the downtown Xujiahui Weather Station.

The scorching heat triggered a lowest-level heat alert (yellow) in the morning, which was updated to middle level (orange) in the afternoon.

Thursday marked this year's 31st high-temperature day, with mercury above 35 degrees.

The high is predicted to touch 40 degrees again on Friday and the weekend.

Also, there will be no respite from the torrid heatwave in the next 10 days, with highs topping 38 degrees and lows over 30.

The city has experienced three rounds of heatwave since July 5, including three days with temperatures topping 40 degrees.

And it's not just Shanghai. The whole country has been roasting in sizzling weather since June 13, the third hottest ever, according to the National Meteorological Center.

People are advised to reduce outdoor activities and beware of heat stroke in the extremely hot weather.