In November 2023, the practice of numbering a cold wave process occurring in China was introduced as an important initiative that is designed to improve the accuracy of cold wave forecasting and warning, and the delivery of associated services

Cold wave events are closely related to traffic safety, agricultural production, energy dispatch, human health, etc. In the context of global warming, although the number of cold waves affecting China is generally decreasing, the extreme cold wave weather and the economic losses caused by it are increasing, which puts forward higher requirements for its forecasting and warning. To this end, the National Meteorological Centre of China (NMC) has established a high-frequency, multi-channel warning release mechanism for cold waves and heavy snowstorms.

In February 2023, NMC announced a new practice on cold wave identification and numbering, a service that classifies the said phenomenon as "cold wave", "severe cold wave", and "super cold wave" based on factors like when, where and how a temperature drop occurs.

Such numbering will help inform the governments, the sectors and the public concerned on how to react. 

Editor: Xu Nenyu