Worst
Heatwave in 140 Years Turns Deadly After Scorching China for More
than a Month; Forecast Predicts No Relief
2
August, 2013
Heatwaves
— they’re a regular risk of summer. But this year has seen a rash
of particularly vicious and anomalous instances. As the Arctic baked
under numerous heatwaves in which temperatures shattered the 90
degree (Fahrenheit) mark, as the US experienced some of its worst
southwestern heat ever recorded, as the UK experienced record summer
heat and wildfires, and as Spain sweltered as temperatures soared
above 40 degrees C (above 104 F), China was experiencing its own
version of a global warming amplified scorcher.
The
worst heatwave in 140 years smothered about 1/3 of China, a sprawling
area covering about 3 million square miles. At the heat epicenter,
Shanghai, a region inhabited by 23 million people, saw daytime
temperatures above 35 degrees C (95 F) for more than 25 days during
July of 2013. On July 26th, Shanghai experienced an all-time record
high of 106 degrees Fahrenheit (42 C), a level not reached since
record keeping began in 1873.
Shanghai
also reported ten deaths and far more numerous heat injuries for the
month, as the hot weather intensified this Wednesday, while dozens of
deaths have been reported over a large, scorched area of
south-coastal China.
Throughout
this week, China has been issuing its second highest national heat
alert. This level requires the establishment of a 24 hour emergency
operations center in order to provide emergency response and support
capabilities for the hardest hit areas. The highest alert level is so
extreme that China has never used it. Unfortunately, as the
human-caused warming trend continues, it seems ever more likely that
such a high heat category will have to be put in use.
Those
living in Hangzhou, a region located about 100 miles to the southwest
of Shanghai, may have already thought officials should have used such
a marker as temperatures soared to above 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40
degrees C), for six out of seven days over the past week. Meanwhile,
Xiaoshan saw a new all-time record high temperature of 108 degrees
Fahrenheit (42.2 degrees C) on Tuesday. The coastal city of Ningbo
saw temperatures hit 109 degrees F on July 26th, the highest
temperature ever recorded for a coastal city in all of South-East
Asia.
In
what has become a kind of macabre ritual in widening areas of the
world affected by extreme heat, Chinese residents laid out shrimp and
eggs to fry over scorching road surfaces. More ominously, the extreme
heat threatened crops even as it baked rivers and lakes setting off
massive fish kills from heat and anoxia. In some regions, the fish
kills were so extreme that an estimated 60 percent of all fish were
lost (normal summer heat may result in 5-10 percent fish losses in
affected regions).
In
order to protect crops and fish, China has engaged in a cloud seeding
effort in hopes of spurring rainfall over scorched areas while it is
urging localities and fish farmers to pump new water into ponds and
rivers to enhance oxygen levels and reduce fish losses.
Heat
dome, coastal flow, very high wet bulb temperatures
Coastal
region of China hardest hit by heat wave.
A
dome of hot, moist air has persisted over this region for nearly a
month now. Though rainfall and even flooding events have occurred due
to a flow of Pacific moisture over the area and the occasional onrush
of tropical cyclones, these rainfall events have done little to
alleviate a combination of oppressive heat and humidity.
Flows
off the ocean would normally help to somewhat alleviate the heat, but
an area of typically hot summer water is now showing readings 1-2
degrees Celsius above average. This broad region of hotter than
normal surface ocean waters off China now show temperatures higher
than 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Windflows issuing
off these extraordinarily hot ocean surface areas are not very
helpful in cooling the baking land. Worse still, the heat dome
conditions — stifling airflow, concentrating heat and locking in
place a layer of heat amplifying haze and smog — have persisted for
much of the past month. This combination of less effective ocean
cooling and heat dome conditions has resulted in a terribly severe
heatwave for this coastal region.
Coastal
heatwaves are particularly oppressive and potentially lethal due to
the fact that humidity tends to remain higher than in more arid
regions. A wet bulb temperature above 35 degrees Celsius (95
Fahrenheit) is considered lethal for human beings. Those living in
Southeast Asia are well used to living under sweltering conditions of
high heat and humidity. But as temperatures approach this human
threshold (25 C + wet bulb temperature), even those acclimated are at
increased risk. So both extreme heat and high humidity likely
contributed to the sad and tragic dozens of instances in which lives
were lost during this particular event.
The
forecast for Shanghai next week calls for continuing record heatwave
conditions with high temperatures ranging from 99 to 102 degrees
(Fahrenheit) from Sunday through Saturday. With humidity levels near
50% this means wet bulb temperatures will approach 29-30 degrees
Celsius during the hottest portions of the day. This continuation of
a scorching summer heat wave will result in high risk of both heat
injury and loss of life for those living in this sweltering region.
With little to no relief in the forecast, this section of China is
likely to remain under the fire of human-caused heating as August
advances.
Links:
China
Heat Wave Causes Deaths, Ruins Crops
2
August, 2013
A
record-breaking heat wave has sent people across China running for
their local pool and even caves as they try to escape the dangerously
high temperatures. Temperatures well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit have
plagued numerous cities for the past week. The heat has been blamed
for dozens of human deaths, as well as numerous dead fish found in
lakes, and severe damage to crops in the south and east of the
country, where the heat wave has been the worst.
The
highest temperature yet recorded has been in the city of Fenghua, in
eastern China. Fenghua saw a high of 108.9 degrees Fahrenheit on July
24th. Other cities have suffered similar record highs. Shanghai’s
temperature set a record with 105 degrees on July 26th. The city of
Hangzhou also hit 108 degrees, and has seen temperatures top 104 for
six of the past seven days. Temperatures in Shanghai were 95 degrees
or higher for 25 total days in July.
Of
course, any time there’s a heat wave here in America, you’re sure
to hear someone say that it’s hot enough to fry an egg on the
sidewalk. Well, in China it seems that that might actually be the
case. A picture circulating widely in Chinese media shows a young boy
cooking shrimp and an egg on a manhole cover. It’s not the
sidewalk, but it’s still pretty amazing:
China
Heat Wave
The
record-high temperatures have also reportedly resulted in eggs (the
fertilized kind, not the ones you cook) hatching without the help of
incubators. There have also been reports of glass cracking in the
heat, cars catching fire, and even a billboard spontaneously
combusting. Authorities believe the heat may have shorted out the
billboard’s wiring, starting the fire.
According
to Chinese media, the heat wave makes this China’s hottest summer
in 140 years. The China Meteorological Association has declared a
level 2 weather emergency, a level usually only applied to typhoons,
floods, or similar weather phenomena. Authorities have even been
attempting to seed clouds in some of the hardest hit areas, hoping to
generate rain.
Unfortunately,
the end of the scorching weather appears to be some time off yet.
Chinese forecasters are predicting that the heat won’t end until
the middle of August at the earliest.
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