On the afternoon of July 12th, in Beijing, it suddenly turned dark and heavy rain poured down. Beijing issued five alerts including heavy rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds.
The news of sudden heavy rain in Beijing on the 12th quickly became a hot topic on mainland social media platforms. Videos circulated online showing the sudden darkness in the sky over Beijing. People commented that it was only around 1 p.m. but the sky had turned dark, and in the videos, various areas of Beijing were hit by fierce winds and heavy rain.
Netizens commented, “It’s pouring heavily at Xinjaiekou.” “It truly turned dark in just a second, the sky went completely black.” “Encountering such extreme weather is really terrifying.” “This rain is too heavy, Beijing’s drainage system will be put to the test again, let’s hope for a swift restoration of traffic.” “Let’s hope we won’t have a repeat of last year’s flooding, then everything will calm down.”
At the same time, Beijing issued alerts for heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, geological disasters, and urban waterlogging, and activated a Level IV emergency response for flood control and prevention across the city.
Some people sarcastically commented, “Has weather forecasting turned into real-time weather reporting? Adjusting weather forecasts based on changing weather conditions.”
According to the warning signals released by the Beijing Meteorological Observatory on the morning of the 12th, it is expected that from 12:00 on the 12th to 12:00 on the 13th, there will be thunderstorms in the city, with locally heavy rainfall, accompanied by short-lived strong winds of around force 7 and small hail. From 13:30 on July 12th to 2:00 on the 14th, there is a risk of localized urban waterlogging in the eastern part of Shijingshan District, southeast part of Haidian District, northwest part of Chaoyang District, and eastern part of Fengtai District.
In particular, the maximum depth of waterlogging in places like Xiangbaiqi Bridge, Haidian District, may reach 26 centimeters.
The Beijing Youth Daily reported that all scenic spots and homestays in Mentougou District have temporarily closed down, and residents and tourists have been advised to avoid outdoor activities.