At present, a widespread and intense heatwave is hitting various parts of China, with many places recording record-breaking temperatures. Several districts and counties in Xi’an, Shaanxi have seen temperatures exceeding 40°C, and the air is filled with a “burning sensation.” On July 15th, a halo appeared in the sky over Xi’an, leading netizens to jokingly say that Xi’an is “too hot to handle” today.
Since July, China has been experiencing prolonged high temperatures nationwide. Yesterday (July 14th), five stations in Shaanxi, including Xingping, Chang’an, Zhouzhi, Xianyang, and Xiahe in Gansu, broke mid-July temperature records. Xingping and Zhouzhi in Shaanxi even set new local records for July temperatures.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, the next two days, July 15th and 16th, will reach peak temperatures with Henan, southern Hebei, central Shaanxi, western Shandong, and western Hubei becoming core regions of the heatwave. In some areas, temperatures could reach 39°C to 43°C, with parts of western Shandong and Henan even breaking records. The China Meteorological Administration has raised the heatwave warning to orange.
Netizens expressed their distress, with comments like, “I’m in Henan, it’s as hot as a skewer.” “I’m in Dalian, the temperature is too high today, the cherries in my garden have been roasted soft.” A netizen from Gansu also remarked, “It’s so hot that everyone looks like a familiar face.” Another from Shaanxi said, “It’s 42°C outside today, even fewer cars on the road.” “Suggesting taking a break, don’t be a victim first; keep your life.”
On the afternoon of the 15th, a large halo appeared over the sky in Xi’an, with the halo around the sun being complete and clear, prompting many citizens to take photos of this unique moment.
A netizen from Xi’an captioned a picture, saying, “Today the sun in Xi’an has been heated out of orbit.” The image shows a circular ring around the sun, with some capturing even two rings.
According to the photographer Mr. Xiao, who spoke to Extreme News, the video was shot at noon, “When I looked up, I thought I was in the Flaming Mountain from ‘Journey to the West,’ the sun in Xi’an even had a halo.”
Prior to this event, on July 2nd, cities like Ningbo and Shanghai also witnessed a “halo” in the sky. There is a folk saying, “Halo around the sun, rain at midnight; halo around the moon, wind at noon,” meaning that if there is a sun halo, there will be rain at midnight, and if there is a moon halo, there will be wind at noon the next day.
In ancient China, halos were often considered ominous signs. The Song Dynasty history records various interpretations based on the color and shape of the halos, indicating different omens. For example, “a semi-halo indicates a conspiracy; yellow is auspicious; black signifies disaster. If the haze is denser, there will be a good harvest; blue suggests military matters and expensive grains; red indicates locusts and disasters.” Additionally, “triple halos signify the rise of troops, quadruple halos signify ministerial rebellion, quintuple halos suggest both war and famine, sextuple halos signify warfare and mourning, septuple halos indicate the downfall of the world.”
Netizens have expressed varied concerns, with comments like, “A precursor to a storm.” “Rain again? It may be a sign of ongoing drought.” “A precursor to a major earthquake! Be cautious!”
Some netizens also shared, “The last time we had this, it seemed like an earthquake followed shortly after.”