A giant panda plays with ice to cool itself in Wuhan, Hubei province, Aug 6, 2013. [Photo by Jin Siliu/Asianewsphoto]  Related story about panda: Two paws up for panda cam

BEIJING - A record-setting summer heat wave will continue to bake most parts of South China in the coming three days.

The National Meteorological Center maintained a high temperature alert on Wednesday, as forecasters said some areas in Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities, as well as the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian, could see temperatures climb to as high as 42 C.

Parts of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will also experience high temperatures of up to 39 C.

The summer heat wave has been baking the country's southern regions since July, causing water shortages, power supply tension and problems with growing crops.

The observatory also issued an alert for approaching tropical storm Mangkhut, which is expected to bring rainstorms to Hainan province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mangkhut, the tenth tropical storm to hit the country this year, was located 120 km away from Sanya city, Hainan, packing winds of up to 72 km per hour at its eye, on Wednesday morning.

It will continue to strengthen and move northwestward at a speed 25 km per hour, the observatory said.