The strongest heatwave of the year has hit, with July 15th and 16th being the peak period. Cities like Zhengzhou and Xi’an have seen temperatures soaring above 40°C, with some areas breaking 70°C on the ground.
On July 15th, widespread temperatures above 35°C were recorded in southern North China to northern South China, eastern parts of the northwest region, the Sichuan Basin, and Xinjiang. Turpan in Xinjiang, Guanzhong in Shaanxi, northwestern Henan, western Hubei, and northern Chongqing experienced temperatures reaching as high as 40°C to 44.7°C. Monitoring data showed that 9 national weather stations broke historical temperature records that day, with 31 stations breaking July records, and 55 stations breaking the record for the decade.
Many areas recorded ground temperatures exceeding 60°C, with some areas even surpassing 70°C. For example, Gaoling in Shaanxi hit 70.3°C, Xianyang at 70.1°C, and Yangxian at 70.2°C, all unusually high for the period.
“It’s so hot, the glass is cracking.” Mr. Tian, a resident of Zhengzhou, Henan, told the Guangzhou Daily that around 10 a.m. on the 15th, he noticed the inner layer of glass in his bathroom window had cracked into a spiderweb pattern. “I didn’t hear any sound, the crack came from the inside, not from an external impact. It must be because of the extreme heat,” he said.
Elephant News reporters in Zhengzhou conducted street temperature tests, using a frying pan to cook eggs and shrimp on the ground. After an hour of exposure to the sun, the shrimp turned from gray to red, and some of the egg liquid solidified.
The topic of “Zhengzhou’s road surface exceeding 72°C” quickly sparked discussions online. Netizens joked, “Zhengzhou has turned into a steamer city,” and “This is true free solar energy.”
Early on the 16th, Zhengzhou issued a red alert for high temperatures. According to China Weather Network, widespread high temperatures will continue on the 16th, with temperatures in some areas of Shaanxi, Henan, and Hubei reaching 37 to 39°C, and extreme temperatures exceeding 40°C in some areas. Parts of western and eastern Guangdong, and southern Zhejiang could feel temperatures of 40 to 45°C.
However, from the 17th onwards, the extensive high temperature weather in the central and eastern regions will gradually ease, with the range shrinking and the intensity slightly weakening. But by the end of this week, areas such as the Huang-Huai, Yangtze-Hanshui, Yangtze-Huai, northern Jiangnan, Guanzhong in Shaanxi, and the Sichuan Basin will still experience high temperatures. Besides, regions like Huang-Huai and Yangtze-Huai are also expecting strong convective weather. On the 16th, parts of southern Huang-Huai, Yangtze-Huai, and the northeast of Jiangnan will experience thunderstorms with winds above level 8 or hail, with some areas in central Anhui and central Jiangsu potentially facing winds above level 10, reaching level 11 or above.