On August 12th, Beijing issued alerts for strong winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain, urban flooding, flash floods, and geological disasters. In the afternoon, the Beijing Meteorological Observatory upgraded the yellow alert signal for heavy rain.
The Beijing Meteorological Bureau also issued a blue alert for heavy rain on August 12th. It is expected that from 8:00 to 8:00 on the 13th, some areas may experience hourly rainfall exceeding 30 millimeters, with 6-hour precipitation exceeding 50 millimeters. This could lead to secondary disasters such as flash floods, debris flows, and landslides in mountainous and hilly areas, as well as water accumulation in low-lying areas.
Starting from 3:00 pm, heavy rain fell in Mentougou, Shijingshan, Haidian, and other areas, spreading to the eastern regions. From 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, the average precipitation in Beijing was 3.1 millimeters, with the highest precipitation recorded in Miyun Huayuan Village at 53.9 millimeters.
At 4:47 pm, the Beijing Meteorological Observatory further upgraded the yellow alert signal for heavy rain, indicating that some areas had already experienced strong rainfall and it was expected to continue. It is predicted that from the time of the alert issuance until the night, Fangshan, Daxing, Tongzhou, Fengtai, Chaoyang, Shunyi, Pinggu, Southern Huairou, Miyun, and other areas may experience heavy rainfall with hourly intensity exceeding 50 millimeters or 6-hour precipitation exceeding 70 millimeters. Accumulated rainfall at some points may exceed 100 millimeters, with the possibility of secondary disasters like flash floods, debris flows, landslides in mountainous and hilly areas, and water accumulation in low-lying areas.
After the Beijing Meteorological Observatory upgraded the yellow alert signal for heavy rain, the Beijing Drainage Group also escalated its flood prevention response.
At 11:30 am on the 12th, the Beijing Water Authority and the Municipal Meteorological Bureau issued a yellow alert for flash floods. It is expected that starting from 11:30 am on the 12th, there is a higher risk of flash floods in Pinggu District, Miyun District, and Huairou District (yellow risk), while Yanqing District, Changping District, Fangshan District, and Mentougou District may experience flash floods (blue risk).
At 5:30 pm, the Beijing Water Authority and the Municipal Meteorological Bureau continued to issue a yellow alert for flash floods. From 5:30 pm onwards, there is a high likelihood of flash floods in Miyun and Huairou Districts in Beijing (orange risk), and a greater risk in Pinggu, Yanqing, Changping, Fangshan, and Mentougou Districts (yellow risk).
At 9:20 am on the 12th, the Beijing Water Authority and the Municipal Meteorological Bureau jointly issued a blue alert for urban flooding. From 10:00 on the 12th to 8:00 on the 13th, there is a risk of localized urban flooding in Chaoyang, Shijingshan, and Fengtai Districts of Beijing.
At 8:40 am on the 12th, Beijing issued a blue alert for strong winds. It is expected that from 10:00 on the 12th to 2:00 on the 13th, most areas of Beijing will experience short-term strong winds of 7-8 Beaufort scale, with local gusts in mountainous areas reaching over 10 Beaufort scale. At 7:38 am on the 12th, Yanqing District issued a yellow alert for strong winds, forecasting strong winds of about 8 Beaufort scale until 11:00 pm, with gusts in mountainous areas reaching 10 Beaufort scale.
At 5:25 pm on the 11th, Beijing issued a blue alert for thunderstorms. It is expected that from 11:00 on the 12th to 6:00 on the 13th, there will be thunderstorm activities with locally heavy rainfall and accompanying short-term strong winds of about 7 Beaufort scale. Additionally, Yanqing, Mentougou, and Fangshan Districts in Beijing issued a yellow alert for thunderstorms in the early morning of the 12th.
At 11:00 am on the 12th, the Beijing Urban Planning and Natural Resources Commission jointly with the Municipal Meteorological Bureau issued a yellow alert for geological disaster meteorological risk. From 11:00 on the 12th to 11:00 on the 13th, there is a higher risk of landslides, collapses, debris flows, and other geological disasters in the southeast part of Miyun District (yellow alert); a risk of landslides, collapses, and debris flows in the northwest part of Fangshan District, the central part of Mentougou District, most parts of Changping District, the southeast part of Yanqing District, the central and southern parts of Huairou District, most parts of Miyun District, and the northern part of Pinggu District (blue alert).
Flood control authorities remind that Beijing is currently under alerts for strong winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain, flash floods, and geological disasters, which are expected to significantly affect traffic during the evening peak on the 12th and the morning peak on the 13th.
On August 12th, “Beijing heavy rain” surged on Weibo’s hot search.
Some netizens commented, “The weather is so unpredictable; strong winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms are hitting simultaneously,” “This is of an extreme heavy rain level,” “One minute it was fine, the next minute heavy rain started suddenly! It’s too abrupt!” “The rain is so heavy today, there should be a red alert,” “I was taking a shower and suddenly there was a power cut, everything outside and inside was pitch black, with strong winds and heavy rain, it was really scary,” “Why does Beijing frequently experience heavy rain recently, and the rain pours down like someone is pouring water from above, it’s so intense, like pouring rainwater, did the sky leak?” “Is this heavy rain being poured down from a bucket? It’s too heavy, everyone stay safe.”