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2022 China heat wave

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2022 China heat wave
AreasChina
Start date13 June 2022
End date31 August 2022
Peak temp. 45.0 °C (113.0 °F), recorded at Beibei on 18 August 2022
Losses
Deaths50,900 (estimated)
Damages$7.6 billion (2022 USD) [1]
A map showing extreme temperatures in East Asia from 10 to 16 July 2022.
A map of extreme temperatures in East Asia from 10 to 16 July 2022.

From June to 31 August 2022, China had a severe heat wave which affected several provinces and municipalities.[2][3] [4][5][6] To date, it is the country's worst heat wave to have existed.[7] According to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, it is the most severe heat wave recorded anywhere in the world.[8]

History

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According to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the national average temperature was listed as 21.3 °C in June. It was 0.9 degrees higher than in the same period last year, making that month the hottest since 1961. In northern Henan, the hottest days on 24 June were in Xuchang with 42.1 °C and Dengfeng with 41.6 °C recorded since records began.[9]

August

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By August, the highest temperatures were recorded across China, while at the same time, less water flowed in the Yangtze, the fewest since 1961.[10] Jiangsu, Hubei and Sichuan provinces had been hit by widespread droughts, local authorities have been ordered to cut water supplies for agricultural, commercial and industrial uses. The drought has already affected more than 800,000 hectares of farmland in six provinces.[11] In August, the weather reached 43.5 °C in Gao County, 43.4 °C in Jianyang and Zigong, 41 °C in Mianyang, 34.9 °C in Chongqing at night, and 45 °C in Beibei.[12][13]

On 18 August, it was reported that silver iodide was used to form clouds in Anhui and other provinces.[14] From 24 to 26 August, high temperatures in southern Shaanxi, Jianghan, Jianghuai and Jiangnan cooled down from north to south.[15][16] On 25 August, artificial rainfall was implemented in parts of Sichuan and Chongqing. On 26 August, the high temperature range in the Sichuan Basin and Jiangnan began to decrease.[17] On 28 August, general industrial and commercial electricity consumption in Sichuan was fully restored and the province's electricity shortage situation eased. On 29 August, high temperatures in the Sichuan Basin decreased. Temperatures in most parts of Chongqing dropped below 30°C.[18] On 30 August, the drought in parts of the Yangtze River Basin eased.[19] On 31 August, high temperatures subsided in most of southern China.[20]

Impact

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Due to the drought and increasing power consumption due to the heat, there was a resulting energy crisis of which several factories had to be shut down.[21] The heat wave had also caused affected the country's economy.[22]

A 2023 report from The Lancet suggested a death toll of 50,900 due to the heatwave.[23]

The drought and persistent heat had also caused more forest fires in China, particularly in Chongqing.[24] Also because of the heat and lack of rain, the level of the Yangtze sharply decreased, and the Three Gorges Dam was opened in order to refill water into that river.[25]

Poyang Lake, which is located in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, has been reduced to just 25% of its usual size due to extreme weather conditions, causing a major drought.[26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight" (PDF). Aon Benfield. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ^ Wang, Vivian (26 July 2022). "Hotter, Longer and More Widespread Heat Waves Scorch China". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  3. ^ May, Tiffany (23 June 2022). "Extreme Weather Hits China With Massive Floods and Scorching Heat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  4. ^ Feng, Emily (20 August 2022). "China battles its worst heat wave on record". National Public Radio. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  5. ^ Newburger, Emma (19 August 2022). "China issues first national drought emergency amid scorching temperatures". CNBC. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  6. ^ Yu, Verna (7 September 2022). "China reports 'most severe' heatwave and third driest summer on record". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Combined intensity of heat wave events has reached the strongest since 1961 according to BCC". China Meteorological Administration. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  8. ^ Le Page, Michael (23 August 2022). "Heatwave in China is the most severe ever recorded in the world". New Scientist.
  9. ^ "Rekordhitze und Überschwemmungen" (in German). Tagesschau. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  10. ^ Ankenbrand, Hendrik (22 August 2022). "China leidet unter der Hitzewelle". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  11. ^ Zinke, Olaf (22 August 2022). "Schlimme Dürre in China – Notstand und Ernteschäden" (in German). Agrarheute. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  12. ^ Freedman, Andrew (22 August 2022). "China's unrivaled 70-day heat wave". Axios. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  13. ^ May, Tiffany; Dong, Joy (18 August 2022). "Factory Shutdowns, Showers for Pigs: China's Heat Wave Strains Economy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  14. ^ Böge, Friederike (18 August 2022). "Tausend Salven für etwas Regen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  15. ^ "再坚持几天，冷空气要来了". Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  16. ^ "中国长江流域旱情不止 246万人供水受影响". Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  17. ^ "南方高温将逐步缓和，北方冷空气、降水将带来缓解作用".
  18. ^ "今日份凉爽你收到了吗？重庆大部降温，城口最凉爽仅18.2°C".
  19. ^ "长江流域部分地区旱情缓解 形势仍严峻".
  20. ^ "高温结束冷空气活跃 最新全国入秋进程图出炉".
  21. ^ "Lights out for Shanghai's Bund as China heatwave sparks power cuts". France24. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  22. ^ Bala, Sumathi (22 August 2022). "China's heatwave could have a knock-on effect on its economy, says economist". CNBC. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  23. ^ "The 2023 China report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: taking stock for a thriving future" (PDF). The Lancet. 18 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  24. ^ Deng, Shawn; McCarthy, Simone (23 August 2022). "Wildfires rage as China's Chongqing suffers unrelenting record heat wave". CNN. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  25. ^ "China's Yangtze river shrinks as heatwave, drought threaten crops". Reuters. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  26. ^ "Its largest lake is so dry, China digs deep to water crops". The Indian Express. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
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