Bacon Fries on Pavement as Heat Wave Grips China It's been so hot in China that folks are grilling shrimp on manhole covers, eggs are hatching without incubators and a highway billboard has mysteriously caught fire by itself. The heat wave is the worst in at least 140 years in some parts and has left dozens of people dead. It has pushed thermometers above 40 degrees C (104 F) in at least 40 cities and counties, mostly in the south and east. Authorities for the first time have declared the heat a "level 2" weather emergency - a label normally invoked for typhoons and flooding.