How long will the heat last? High temperatures continue to affect more than 10 provinces
The high temperature heat wave continues to sweep across the north. The meteorological department predicts that until the 21st, the eastern part of North China, the Huanghuai area and other places will still have high temperatures above 35°C, and the local maximum daily temperature may reach around 40°C.
Since June 7, the Central Meteorological Observatory has issued high temperature warnings for several consecutive days. In the past ten days, about half of the land area in central and eastern my country has experienced high temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, especially in North China and the Huanghuai area, where heat waves approaching or even exceeding 40 degrees Celsius have continued.
On June 19, the Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a yellow alert for high temperature.The highest temperature in Xinjiang is 373.39 ℃ in some areas along Tianshan, central Shaanxi, south-central Hebei, southeast of Beijing, Tianjin and northern Shandong.
Are temperatures above 40°C becoming more common?
China Weather Network reviewed the meteorological big data from 1961 to 2023 and found that in these 62 years, the number of high temperatures of 40°C and above at national meteorological observation stations across the country has indeed shown an overall upward trend, with the highest number in 2022, reaching 4,209 stations.
Taking Shijiazhuang, Hebei as an example, the number of years with high temperatures of 40℃ and above has increased significantly since 2000. Among them, there were 4 days with high temperatures of 40℃ and above in 2010, and the number reached 7 days in 2023.
During this period, not only has the northern part of our country experienced extremely high temperatures, but India also experienced an extremely high temperature event of over 50°C some time ago, and extreme high temperature events have also occurred frequently in Thailand, Mexico, and the United States. Zheng Zhihai, chief expert of the National Climate Center, said that the background of global warming and the specific high-pressure systems that directly affect various places are the most important factors affecting high temperatures in various places.
This strong warming trend has shown signs a few years ago. Under the background of La Niña, which started in 2020 and lasted for more than three years, my country's warmest temperature records were continuously refreshed in 2021 and 2022. After experiencing a moderate El Niño event in 2023, the global temperature that year even refreshed the record for the warmest year since meteorological records began.
Back to now, El Nino has ended, but La Nina may appear later this year. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the probability of La Nina occurring between July and September 2024 is 60%; between August and November, the probability reaches 70%.
According to the meteorological department, from the 18th to the 21st, the eastern part of North China, the Huanghuai area and other places will still have high temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, and the local maximum temperature may reach around 40 degrees Celsius. After the 20th, as a new and stronger cold air moves south, the high temperature in the large area of the north may be alleviated.
