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Incredible Heat Wave in China, Greenland Record
While a lot of attention (justified) has been spent on the record heat in Siberia and Europe this past month, the actual big story so far this summer is the heat wave in eastern China. This July will go down as the hottest ever measured for places like Shanghai, Changsha, and Hangzhou. Records for Shanghai date back to 1873 and no such heat has ever been observed there or in much of Eastern China. BREAKING NEWS: Greenland has just reported its warmest temperature on record.
The provinces most affected by the heat this past July are Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and, of course, Shanghai. The population of these five provinces is about 314 million, more than the population of the entire United States.
Map outlining the provinces of China. Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and, Shanghai have been most affected by the heat wave.
The core of the heat has been centered over Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, and China’s 4th largest metropolitan area with about 21.1 million residents. The average July temperature for Hangzhou (records begin in 1956) is 28.9°C (84.1°F) with an average high of 33.0°C (91.4°F) and low of 24.9°C (76.8°F). This past July has averaged 32.4°C (90.3°F), some 3.5°C (6.2°F) above normal, and by far the warmest single month on record for the city. An all-time absolute maximum temperature of 40.5°C (104.9°F) was set on both July 30th and July 27th. The previous record was 40.3°C (104.5°F) set on August 1, 2003 (there is a mistaken figure of 42.2°C/108.0°F from July 6, 1960 that has proven to be a clerical error). What is astonishing is that there were SIX days in July that measured 40°C (104°F) or warmer and, prior to this July, 40°+ has only been measured twice in the city’s weather history (records began in 1956)—both during the summer of 2003. At least 10 deaths have been directly attributed to the heat wave although the actual figure is probably much higher if one were to look at mortality rates relative to normal for the past month.
Climate table for Hangzhou, China July 2013. Note the lowest temperature for the month was just 25.0°C (77.0°F), that should be the average low for every day in a typical July. Also note how dry it has been with just 9.4mm (0.38") versus an normal July precipitation of about 167mm (6.70"). The lack of any tropical storm activity is the reason for this. OGIMET.
Shanghai has also broken its all-time record high with a 40.6°C (105.1°F) on Friday July 26th. They had a daily minimum of just 31.3°C (88.3°F) on July 30th. The temperature reached or exceeded 35°C (95°F) for 25 days of the month. Like Hangzhou, this past July has been the warmest month on record for Shanghai (where climate data began in 1873).
In fact, it is likely that this July has been the warmest on record for virtually every site in the eastern Chinese provinces listed above. Ningbo City, located on the coastline east of Hangzhou reached 42.7°C (108.9°F) on July 26th, the warmest temperature ever measured at any coastal location in Eastern or Southeastern Asia. Numerous, too many to list, other cities have reported all-time record maximum temperatures and warmest month on record.
The heat wave has been a boon to China’s beach resorts, as can bee seen in this photo above taken in Dalian on July 21st. Photo from Global News.
Keep in mind that the July climate for this region would be similar to that of the Washington D.C. area except more humid, since the Yellow Sea has very high SST’s during the summer. Normally, typhoons would be making occasional landfalls along the central coast this time of year and bring relief to the brutal heat. That has not been the case this summer and, along with the heat, drought conditions have developed.
The heat is continuing unabated and, in fact, is predicted to intensify and spread north and west this coming week.
BREAKING NEWS: Greenland has just measured its hottest temperature on record July 30th with a reading of 25.9°C (78.6°F) at Maniitoq Mittarfia during a foehn event. The previous Greenland record was 25.5°C (77.9°F) at Kangerlussuaq on July 27, 1990.
Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian
While a lot of attention (justified) has been spent on the record heat in Siberia and Europe this past month, the actual big story so far this summer is the heat wave in eastern China. This July will go down as the hottest ever measured for places like Shanghai, Changsha, and Hangzhou. Records for Shanghai date back to 1873 and no such heat has ever been observed there or in much of Eastern China. BREAKING NEWS: Greenland has just reported its warmest temperature on record.
The provinces most affected by the heat this past July are Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and, of course, Shanghai. The population of these five provinces is about 314 million, more than the population of the entire United States.
Map outlining the provinces of China. Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and, Shanghai have been most affected by the heat wave.
The core of the heat has been centered over Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, and China’s 4th largest metropolitan area with about 21.1 million residents. The average July temperature for Hangzhou (records begin in 1956) is 28.9°C (84.1°F) with an average high of 33.0°C (91.4°F) and low of 24.9°C (76.8°F). This past July has averaged 32.4°C (90.3°F), some 3.5°C (6.2°F) above normal, and by far the warmest single month on record for the city. An all-time absolute maximum temperature of 40.5°C (104.9°F) was set on both July 30th and July 27th. The previous record was 40.3°C (104.5°F) set on August 1, 2003 (there is a mistaken figure of 42.2°C/108.0°F from July 6, 1960 that has proven to be a clerical error). What is astonishing is that there were SIX days in July that measured 40°C (104°F) or warmer and, prior to this July, 40°+ has only been measured twice in the city’s weather history (records began in 1956)—both during the summer of 2003. At least 10 deaths have been directly attributed to the heat wave although the actual figure is probably much higher if one were to look at mortality rates relative to normal for the past month.
Climate table for Hangzhou, China July 2013. Note the lowest temperature for the month was just 25.0°C (77.0°F), that should be the average low for every day in a typical July. Also note how dry it has been with just 9.4mm (0.38") versus an normal July precipitation of about 167mm (6.70"). The lack of any tropical storm activity is the reason for this. OGIMET.
Shanghai has also broken its all-time record high with a 40.6°C (105.1°F) on Friday July 26th. They had a daily minimum of just 31.3°C (88.3°F) on July 30th. The temperature reached or exceeded 35°C (95°F) for 25 days of the month. Like Hangzhou, this past July has been the warmest month on record for Shanghai (where climate data began in 1873).
In fact, it is likely that this July has been the warmest on record for virtually every site in the eastern Chinese provinces listed above. Ningbo City, located on the coastline east of Hangzhou reached 42.7°C (108.9°F) on July 26th, the warmest temperature ever measured at any coastal location in Eastern or Southeastern Asia. Numerous, too many to list, other cities have reported all-time record maximum temperatures and warmest month on record.
The heat wave has been a boon to China’s beach resorts, as can bee seen in this photo above taken in Dalian on July 21st. Photo from Global News.
Keep in mind that the July climate for this region would be similar to that of the Washington D.C. area except more humid, since the Yellow Sea has very high SST’s during the summer. Normally, typhoons would be making occasional landfalls along the central coast this time of year and bring relief to the brutal heat. That has not been the case this summer and, along with the heat, drought conditions have developed.
The heat is continuing unabated and, in fact, is predicted to intensify and spread north and west this coming week.
BREAKING NEWS: Greenland has just measured its hottest temperature on record July 30th with a reading of 25.9°C (78.6°F) at Maniitoq Mittarfia during a foehn event. The previous Greenland record was 25.5°C (77.9°F) at Kangerlussuaq on July 27, 1990.
Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.