- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
World's largest indoor ski resort opens in Shanghai as China logs hottest month
Shanghai opened the world's largest indoor ski resort on Friday, welcoming snowsuit-clad visitors to its faux pistes as China reported its hottest August in 60 years.
This year's northern summer saw the highest global temperatures ever recorded, and in the faux-Alpine square where the resort's opening ceremony took place, the mercury had already hit 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) by 9:00 am local time.
But the temperature plummeted to well below zero inside the cavernous atrium, where visitors switched from sunglasses and T-shirts into padded overalls, some opting for designer goggles or flapping bat-winged helmets.
At the top of a piste, snowboarder Jessica Zhang was unphased by the August heat record.
"When it comes to climate, I feel like you get ups and downs in temperature -- maybe every few years a hottest year comes along," she shrugged.
This year is likely to be the Earth's hottest on record, beating the record set in 2023, according to the EU's climate monitor.
Climate change has affected traditional outdoor skiing destinations, with ice and snow retreating as global temperatures rise.
China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, though in recent years it has also emerged as a global leader in renewable energy.
Even as the country warms, huge government support and the interest of an expanding middle class have seen the ski industry coast to new heights in China, particularly after Beijing hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The country leads the world when it comes to indoor ski resort building, boasting half of the world's top ten based on snow area, according to Daxue Consulting.
On Friday, the Shanghai L*SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort was officially certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest, overtaking the previous record-holder -- also in China, in northern Harbin.
Modelled like a glacier, the 90,000-square-metre snow world towers over coastal Lingan, about 1.5 hours away from the city centre.
A Shanghai government report in August acknowledged that such projects "will inevitably consume a lot of energy".
But it noted the resort was built to maximise energy reuse, through elements such as its ice storage and waste heat recovery systems, as well as extensive rooftop photovoltaics.
Its completion has been pushed back several times -- industry media reported its originally planned opening date to be 2019.
Its soft opening period has not been wholly smooth either.
The resort said it would add more safety measures after an accident in which a guest claimed a finger was severed, state media reported Wednesday.
X.Brito--PC