In accordance with the recent monitoring of Beijing Climate Centre (BCC)，with the average intensity of heat wave events, impact scale, and duration taken into account, the combined intensity of regional heat wave event of China since June 13 has reached the strongest since the complete meteorological observation record existed.

Distribution map of the day of high temperature in China (June 1 to August 15)

Poyang Lake, the largest fresh water lake of China, has entered the dry season ahead of schedule due to hot weather. Source: Jiangxi Provincial Meteorological Service

This process is characterized by long duration, wide range, strong intensity. By August 15, this heat wave event has lasted 64 days, which has been the longest since 1961, surpassing the record of 62 days in 2013.

The temperature of above 35℃ has covered 1680 meteorological observatories and the temperature of above 37℃ has covered 1426 meteorological observatories. These two figures have ranked second in history.  The coverage of the temperature of above 40℃ has been the largest in history.

Since this summer (June 1 to August 15), the average number of high temperature day in China is 12 days, 5.1 days more than that in the same period of normal years, which ranks first since the complete meteorological observation records began in 1961.

Since this summer, the number of the day of high temperature in 10 provinces (autonomous regions) of Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Xinjiang has been the highest compared with the same period in history since 1961. And the figure in six provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) of Hunan, Shandong, Gansu, Ningxia, Yunnan, and Shanghai has been the second highest.

A total of 914 national meteorological observatories (accounting for 37.7 percent of the total number of national meteorological observatories in China) have reached the standard for extreme heat wave events, and 262 of them in Hebei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Qinghai and other places equaled or exceeded the historical maximum temperature records.  

Distribution map of extreme heat wave events in China (June 1 to August 15)

Editor: Liu Shuqiao