Since the beginning of summer, China has been struggling with scorching heat. As of noon on July 16th, a total of 20,248 heat alerts of various levels have been issued nationwide. People in Henan reported to the media that some individuals have died from the heat, while residents in Hubei mentioned hearing funeral music continuously in the scorching weather.
On the morning of July 17th, the China Meteorological Administration continued to issue orange alerts for high temperatures, indicating widespread high temperatures in the eastern part of the country. In areas such as southern Shaanxi, southwestern Shanxi, western Hubei, eastern Sichuan, and Chongqing, local temperatures have soared to as high as 40 to 43.7 degrees Celsius.
According to the National Warning Information Release Center, as of 3:35 pm on July 17th, Sichuan Province has issued 86 red heat alerts, 47 orange heat alerts, and 11 yellow heat alerts in effect.
The previous day, the center’s data showed that as of noon on July 16th, China had issued a total of 20,248 high-temperature alerts at all levels centrally and locally, marking a 40.31% increase compared to the same period last year and a 72.02% increase compared to the historical average since 2017.
Statistics reveal that Hebei Province has experienced an average of 16 days of high temperatures, seven days more than usual for the same period. From June 29th to July 15th, the Hunan Provincial Meteorological Bureau issued 17 heat alerts for 17 consecutive days, including 10 yellow alerts, six orange alerts, and one red alert.
On July 17th, Mr. Luo from Henan told reporters that while he was on a business trip in the northeast, his family in Xinyang, Henan, described unbearable heat. “Two people in our town have died from the heat. One of them collapsed in the field next to the town, an older person who was working outside at noon and was found by passersby with no pulse,” he said, depicting the harsh reality of the situation.
He added, “According to reports, the outdoor temperature in Henan reached 44 degrees Celsius during that time, the highest temperature since the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Even our traditional ‘Four Great Furnaces’ weren’t as hot as our area. One possible reason could be the construction of the dam in the Three Gorges region, leading to changes in the climate in the entire Three Gorges area and downstream regions.”
Mr. Liu from a rural area in Hubei reported that it has been scorching for six or seven consecutive days until the 17th. “The forecasts usually ranged from 33 to 39 degrees Celsius, with only one day explicitly predicting 40 degrees. They said the highest would be 39 degrees, with some areas hitting 40 degrees. Yesterday and the day before predicted 39 degrees, hinting that it was going to be over 39 degrees.”
He mentioned that the weather is extremely hot, with no difference between the recent extreme heat and the traditional hottest period of the year. People are sweating profusely all day. Even the women who usually dance in the square at night have refrained from doing so in the recent days due to the excessively high temperatures.
The scorching weather has adverse effects on people’s health. Liu shared, “During the scorching days, we could hear funeral music playing from cars almost every day. It’s likely that some elderly or physically weaker individuals with heart conditions or other chronic illnesses passed away.”
Since the beginning of July, the Huang-Huai, Yangtze-Huai, Yangtze-Hanshui, and Jiangnan regions have experienced high temperatures ranging from 5 to 8 days, with some areas enduring 9 to 13 days of extreme heat.
From July 3rd to 8th and from the 12th till present, China has witnessed consecutive rounds of widespread high temperatures.
During the first wave of high temperatures, over 3.15 million square kilometers of the country experienced temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, affecting a population of 920 million. The highest temperatures in history were recorded at 11 national-level meteorological observatories including Yantai in Shandong and Yancheng in Jiangsu.
According to a report by Shandong Radio and Television’s Flash News on July 6th, on July 4th, the highest temperature in Shandong was recorded in Hanshuang, Weishan, Jinin at 42.7 degrees Celsius. By 12 pm on the 5th, Shandong had issued a total of 71 heat alerts.
The second round of high temperatures centered on Henan, with over 1,400 national-level meteorological observatories in all 29 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities reporting temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. Xi’an, Xianyang, and Baoji in Shaanxi saw temperatures surpassing 42 degrees Celsius, while the national-level observatory in Dongkan, Turpan, Xinjiang, recorded a high of 45.7 degrees Celsius, breaking historical records at 8 national-level observatories.
As reported by Daxiang News on July 14th, between 7 am and 5 pm, 162 counties in Henan had 1756 stations recording temperatures equal to or above 37 degrees Celsius, with 127 of them exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. During this period, a total of 128 heat alerts were issued province-wide, including 20 red heat alerts.