On July 1st, the Communist Party of China celebrated its founding day, followed by the Third Plenary Session in mid-July. While the country experienced scorching temperatures, it also faced disasters like heavy rains, typhoons, floods, mudslides, and even a sudden shift from extreme heat to snowfall mode.
Typhoon “Kemi” made landfall in Xiuyu District, Putian City, Fujian Province on the evening of July 25th, with maximum wind speeds near its center reaching 12 on the Beaufort scale. Houses and trees were toppled, creating a scene of devastation that affected at least 59 counties in 7 areas of the province. By around 5 pm on the 26th, the typhoon had moved into Jiangxi Province, with its impact still lingering. Wherever Kemi passed, it left behind a trail of destruction, described by netizens as apocalyptic.
As a result of Typhoon Kemi, on July 27th, the town of Yixi in Chaozhou, Guangdong, turned into a water town, and the city itself suffered from flooding. In less than 20 minutes in Longhua District, Shenzhen, the water rose to about 30-40 centimeters.
While Kemi was still present, on the morning of the 28th, residents of Lanhe Town in Nansha District of Guangzhou, Guangdong, witnessed a tornado, with Guangzhou Weather confirming the authenticity of the event reported by mainland media.
Prior to this, on July 26th, the China Meteorological Administration reported a tornado in Chaozhou, Guangdong, explaining that tornadoes occur under extremely unstable weather conditions due to intense air convection, forming powerful, localized air vortices.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, from July 28th to 29th, at least 10 provinces and cities experienced heavy rainfall, with some areas facing torrential downpours and even exceptionally heavy rainfall. This included the southern parts of Guangdong, Hunan, the western and northern parts of Hubei, the northern part of Guizhou, Chongqing, the southeastern part of Shaanxi, the southern part of Hebei, the northern part of Shandong, the eastern part of Liaoning, and the central-eastern part of Jilin.
As the central region of Hunan was heavily impacted by this wave of storms and rainfall, the entire province faced significant rainfall, leading the provincial meteorological bureau to upgrade the orange rainstorm warning to a red one by 4 pm on the 28th.
On the 28th, heavy rainfall persisted in Hunjiang, Jilin, causing rapid river swelling and an emergency situation in Baishan. Linjiang City in Jilin also issued an urgent notice, requesting residents living in buildings with three floors or fewer to immediately move to higher ground. Additionally, the amount of precipitation in Liaoning this July is the highest in 60 years.
The landing of Typhoon Kemi in Fujian on the 25th brought significant destructive power to various parts of mainland China, resulting in collapses and damage to buildings, with losses difficult to estimate.
On the evening of the 28th, the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a red alert for mountain flood disasters. Between 8 pm on the 28th and 8 pm on the 29th, areas in the southeast of Chongqing and the northeast of Guizhou were warned of a high likelihood of mountain flood disasters under the orange alert, while parts of the northwest of Hunan were under a red alert.
Starting from the early morning of July 27th, due to the influence of Typhoon “Gemei,” heavy rain inundated Zixing, Yongxing, and Rucheng in Chenzhou, Hunan, leading to the collapse of multiple power poles and flooding in some areas. Dalian also issued a warning for the risk of mountain flood disasters.
On the 28th, the water level at the Dongjiang Dam in Zixing, Hunan, rose due to both flood discharge and heavy rainfall, with water levels continuing to rise, not only in Zixing but also in Chenzhou and Xingning.
Chinese media reported that several towns in Zixing, Hunan, were hit by heavy rain and floods, with eight villages losing contact with the outside world.
By the morning of the 29th, the Jinshui River in Hunan’s Sixin Township widened to 77 meters, prompting the emergency relocation of local residents. Officials claimed there were no casualties in this breach, with water levels inside and outside the dam remaining relatively stable. Half of the houses inside the dam had been flooded.
On July 11th, a well-known travel blogger named “Wandering Steel Plate Sound” in mainland China filmed a video in Hotan City, Xinjiang, stating that they had observed snowfall again while heading towards Xinjiang. “July snow is so refreshing, is it still hot where you are?”
According to the mainland media’s Hongguan News, around 1 pm on July 4th, heavy snowfall began in Ebo Town, Qi Lian County, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.
The official public account of Goyang County, in the northeastern part of Jiangxi Province, “Goyang Release,” also posted a video, saying, “Failed summer, it’s snowing.”
Witnessing the unusual weather, netizens shared videos, expressing disbelief that summer had shifted abruptly into winter, with some areas experiencing snowfall within seconds. An Anhui resident, Ms. Xia, was amazed to see snow in July while touring, describing it as an unforgettable experience.
As extreme temperatures persisted across the country, netizens voluntarily donated thermometers reading 10-20 degrees to the Qilian Mountains.
Some netizens remarked on the abnormal climate this year, urging people to pay attention and reflect on the situation. Others were puzzled by the occurrence of snow during the hottest period of summer, finding it more baffling than historic tales, and questioning the unjust events and individuals responsible for such phenomena.
Rumors circulated that snowfall had also been observed in some areas, with videos taken by netizens from places like Fengtai in Chengdu and Chenzhai in Zhengzhou. However, these reports have yet to be verified.