On October 7, 2025, the Chinese state media CCTV sparked a heated discussion on the internet by mistakenly using weather data from the same day last year during the Mid-Autumn Festival weather forecast in the news broadcast.
On the evening of October 5, in the weather forecast after CCTV’s news broadcast, the predicted temperatures for several southern cities for the Mid-Autumn Festival on October 6 were lower than the actual temperatures. For example, Nanchang was forecasted to be 21-29°C, and Fuzhou 23-29°C. On October 6, the actual temperatures displayed on the China Weather website were Hangzhou 27-37°C, Nanchang 28-36°C, and Fuzhou 26-37°C, showing significant deviations. Shanghai’s forecast of 26-35°C matched the actual temperatures, making it one of the few cities with accurate forecasts.
According to Red Star News, CCTV’s weather forecast stated that the maximum temperatures in many cities in South and East China on the 6th were only in the twenties, leading many people to believe that the weather in these areas would significantly cool down on the Mid-Autumn Festival. In reality, the high temperatures in the southern regions on the 6th did not decrease.
Not only did the temperatures in southern cities show discrepancies, but apart from Shanghai and Guangzhou, most cities had deviations, with these erroneous temperature forecasts coinciding with the data from October 5, 2024.
After this mistake was exposed, it sparked a discussion on the internet.
Netizens commented, “It was actually the elders at home who noticed it first. Initially, when they told us, we didn’t believe it, but upon reviewing the broadcast, we realized how outrageous it was.” “It’s going to be 37 degrees in Haining tomorrow, how is it possible for Hangzhou to be only in the twenties?” “I was watching with my grandmother, and when I saw the temperature, I was stunned. I immediately checked my phone, and it was still 37 degrees. It’s not an illusion.” “The same in Nanjing, it’s 33 degrees today, but the weather forecast said 22 degrees.”
“Due to a malfunction, they used data from the same period last year.” “If this kind of situation can happen, what else are they not afraid to fool us about? Let’s see which temporary worker will take responsibility.” “Isn’t this a major mistake? So irresponsible.”
On October 6, the staff on duty at the Huafeng Meteorological Media Group, a subsidiary of the China Meteorological Administration, responded that a technical failure led to incorrect program data and that they were rectifying the issue, with the system having been repaired.