Inside the House Feels Like a Sauna: Residents in Shanghai Complain of Being “Baked”

In a residential area in Yangpu district, Shanghai, residents on the top floor are facing what they describe as the “most unbearable summer” due to the extreme heat. They likened their homes to a sauna, with temperatures soaring and making it difficult to endure.

The residential area, known as Kongjiangdong San Cun, is an old-fashioned community that underwent renovations in the latter half of last year. The old roof tiles were replaced with new asphalt shingles, but the heat insulation effect of the new roof has been significantly less effective. As a result, the top-floor apartments feel excessively hot, resembling a steam basket.

Comprising mostly 6-floor buildings without elevators, the community has been experiencing sweltering conditions. On July 23rd, a reporter from a local newspaper visited the home of Mr. Zhang, a resident in the area, when the outdoor temperature reached 39.4℃. The scorching sun and lack of breeze created an oppressive heat that was difficult to bear.

Climbing up the narrow staircase to the 6th floor, the reporter was already drenched in sweat. Upon entering Mr. Zhang’s home, instead of finding relief, they were hit with an even more suffocating wave of heat, akin to stepping into a sauna-like environment, causing immediate perspiration.

Despite turning on the air conditioning in advance, the indoor temperature still reached 35.0℃, with the walls and floor feeling scorching hot to the touch. Mr. Zhang mentioned that even with the air conditioning set at 26℃, it took two hours to begrudgingly reach 27℃. Once turned off, the temperature quickly rose again.

Mr. Zhang revealed that over 100 households in the community, all located on the top floor, were facing similar challenges. Residents believe the issue stems from the roof renovation carried out last year, as such conditions were not experienced in previous years.

In response to the situation, officials from the Yangpu district housing department acknowledged that the new asphalt shingles were too thin compared to the previous roof tiles, resulting in poor insulation. A preliminary solution includes applying a reflective heat-insulating coating on the roof, which is yet to be implemented.

As mainland China experienced record-high average temperatures in July this year, with regions like Jianghuai and Jiangnan continuing to face strengthening heatwaves, several provincial capital cities, including Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, endured seven consecutive days of high temperatures. Shanghai even saw two days in a row with temperatures reaching 40℃, marking the highest temperature recorded in the city this year.

Many internet users in various regions expressed their struggles with the intense heat, indicating how they were sweating excessively, feeling like they have entered a sauna when leaving air-conditioned rooms, and finding it unusually humid and uncomfortable. The prevailing sentiment was that the scorching temperatures outside made indoors a preferable option, despite the high reliance on air conditioning for comfort during such extreme heatwaves.