Beijing, Sep 6 (IANS): China has experienced its hottest summer since record keeping began in 1961, the National Climate Centre said on Tuesday.

The country's average temperature from June 1 to August 31 was 22.3 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than that in the same period of regular years and the highest since 1961, reports Xinhua news agency.

A total of 17 provincial-level regions, including Hunan province and Chongqing Municipality, registered a record-hot summer, the Centre said.

The average days with the highest temperature reaching or exceeding 35 degrees Celsius on the day in China reached 14.3 days, a record high since 1961 and 6.3 days more than that in the same period of regular years.

China saw 366 national-level meteorological stations reporting temperatures reading the same or higher than the previous record.

A total of 15 stations registered temperatures reaching or topping 44 degrees Celsius.

The national average precipitation logged the second lowest in the same period since 1961, said the Centre.

It forecast that the temperature in autumn in most parts of China will be close to or slightly higher than that in regular years.