Shanghai
sets new all-time record (again) as heat wave bakes eastern China
While
the eastern U.S. and Canada have recently seen below-normal
temperatures, a major summer heat wave has been the story in eastern
China since early July.
8
August, 2013
Shanghai
saw its hottest July in 140 years as temperatures soared to 100ºF or
higher for 10 straight days between July 23 and August 1. The coastal
city reached 95ºF (35ºC) or higher on 25 days last month, 14 of
which exceeded 100ºF (37.8ºC).
This
week, Shanghai eclipsed its all-time record high temperature set
barely two weeks ago. The Shanghai Daily reports that the city’s
meteorological bureau recorded a temperature of 105.4ºF (40.8ºC) on
August 7, which breaks the previous record of 105.1º (40.6ºC) from
both July 26 and August 6, 2013. Prior to this year, the all-time
high at Shanghai’s Xujiahui weather observatory was 104.4ºF set in
1934.
High
humidity and trapped urban heat have also kept overnight temperatures
several degrees above normal. On July 29, Shanghai only dropped to
88ºF (31ºC). Normal high and low temperatures in the metropolis are
about 91 and 78 degrees, respectively, this time of year.
The
ongoing heat wave in eastern China has caused at least 10 deaths,
depleted water resources, and strained regional power grids.
Other
major cities in eastern and southern China have been as hot, if not
hotter, than Shanghai. The Global Times reports that China’s
National Meteorological Center issued a red temperature alert – its
highest-level heat warning – for the 14th straight day.
High
temperatures on August 7 broke records at 130 weather stations across
the country, and 30 stations measured their all-time highest
temperatures on record this year.
Last
week, Weather Underground’s Christopher Burt wrote that Ningbo
City, south of Shanghai, reached 108.9ºF (42.7ºC) on July 26 –
the warmest temperature ever measured along China’s eastern or
southeastern coast. Asian news outlets are reporting the temperature
on Wednesday reached an even higher 110.3ºF (43.5ºC) in nearby
Fenghua, which would also be a record for the surrounding Zheijiang
Province.
The
longer-term effects of rapid urbanization, decreased vegetation, and
global warming are also at play, as experts at China’s
Meteorological Center have explained to the local press.
As
eastern and southern China wilt under the heat, the normally arid
northwestern provinces have faced major flooding and above-average
rainfall. The Xinhua news agency writes that July precipitation
measured 12.9 inches (328.1 mm) in China’s northern Shandong
province, a 50-year high.
The
inverted weather pattern this summer is due to the jet stream stream
staying parked to the north, which has kept rain from reaching
China’s southern and coastal regions.
For
the millions of heat-weary residents in China’s major coastal
cities, the extended hot spell will continue for at least another
week. A silver lining is that temperatures will slowly moderate into
the mid-90s after the weekend. Yet rainfall remains absent, as
tropical storm systems, typical for this time of year, steer clear of
the East China Sea.
Heat
wave to continue as authorities stay on red alert
China's
top meteorological authority maintained a red high temperature alert
for the 14th day in a row, forecasting that most regions in southern
China will be baked by temperatures above 37 C on Thursday.
8
August, 2013
In
the latest statement on the National Meteorological Center's website,
areas in provincial regions including Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui,
Shanghai, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Chongqing will experience
temperatures as high as 42 C.
Much
of Shandong and Henan provinces in northern China will also reach a
high of 35 C, said the center.
In
the three-day forecast, there is no sign of temperatures dropping.
The ongoing summer heat wave will continue to wreak havoc despite
Wednesday marking the start of Autumn, or Liqiu in the Chinese lunar
calendar, which signals the passing of summer and a cooling of the
weather, said the National Meteorological Center.
The
center said that Wednesday saw temperatures above 35 C in 16
provincial regions, covering an area of 1.56 million square
kilometers, or 16 percent of the country. Some 70,000 square
kilometers of the country suffered from extremely high temperatures
of over 40 C.
By
4 pm Wednesday, the highest temperature in the country - 43.5 C - was
recorded in Jiangjin district, Chongqing Municipality and Fenghua,
Zhejiang Province.
On
Wednesday, 130 monitoring stations across the country broke their
record for high temperatures this year, while 30 of them noted the
highest temperature since they were established.
The
Xujiahui station in downtown Shanghai witnessed a 40.8 C in
temperature Wednesday, the highest since the municipality started to
keep weather figures 140 years ago.
This
heat wave, which surfaced in July, has caused water shortages, power
supply tension and problems with growing crops. About 4 million
hectares of farmland in southern China have been affected by the
drought, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters on Monday.
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