China is experiencing a “catastrophic and unprecedented” heatwave at the start of October, with some areas experiencing temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius.
Although it is autumn and temperatures should be cooling, the country’s October heat record has already been broken several times in recent days. The previous high temperature for an October day was only set last year.
It follows China’s August heatwave, which scientists described as the worst in world climatic history.
Drought warnings have been issued in many parts of southern China
The Chinese government has a four-tiered, color-coded weather warning system. According to local media, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued a yellow alert (third-tier) for high temperatures in southern China on Sunday, including Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Chongqing.
Drought warnings have been issued in many parts of southern China, with the eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, and Fujian also experiencing “excessive drought.”
According to China‘s Global Times, the NMC said it was unusual that such large parts of the country were still experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures hovering around record-highs in many cities.
Experts described the October heatwave in China as “catastrophic and unprecedented”
“Temperature in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River already broke the historical record of the same period in previous years,” NMC meteorologist Zhang Tao said.
“Before the cold air reaches south China, more places in this region will continue to swelter through extended heat, with the highest temperatures likely to keep growing, and possibly breaking more records.”
On Monday night, weather historian Maximiliano Herrera described the October heat in China as “catastrophic and unprecedented.”
He tweeted: “40.9C at Qingyang beat the national monthly heat record again, 12 provinces and 470 stations (including Shanghai) pulverized their records, in some cases even by 4C-5C and even above their September records. Mind-blowing heatwave.
Record-breaking heat in China caused lakes and rivers to dry up, crops to die
Meanwhile, the NMC issued the earliest cold wave warning in history on Sunday, with cold air forecast to sweep through the country’s north and center from Sunday to Thursday, including Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Henan, and parts of Hubei and Anhui.
This summer’s record-breaking heat in China caused lakes and rivers to dry up, crops to die, and factories to close, affecting energy, water, and food supplies across the country.
“There is nothing in world climatic history which is even minimally comparable to what is happening in China,” Mr. Herrera told New Scientist magazine in August. “This combines the most extreme intensity with the most extreme length with an incredibly huge area all at the same time.”