Inland areas have neared 40C, while in northern China a cold air mass clashed with warmth to produce heavy rain
While northern parts of China felt their first autumnal chill under persistent heavy rain this week, large areas farther south have continued to swelter in summer-like heat. In south-east China, temperatures have climbed steadily since late September under the influence of higher than average pressure to the north-east, reaching the mid-to-high 30Cs during a period when conditions would normally be cooling from about 30C to the mid-20s. Inland areas have neared 40C (104F), with Xiushui, in Jiangxi province, recording 38.9C on Wednesday, about 13C above average for early October.
Overnight warmth has also persisted. In Hong Kong, further heat on Wednesday brought October’s tally of “very hot days” – defined by temperatures remaining above 28C throughout the day – to four, the highest ever recorded for the month. Models suggest the unusual heat across south-east China will last for another eight to 10 days, before colder air pushes in from the north.
In northern China, a much colder air mass clashed with the warmth to produce stubborn, heavy rain. There had been at least 36 hours of continuous rainfall in Beijing as of Thursday afternoon, averaging 68.8mm (2.71in) across the city, with one Daxing district station recording 140.4mm since Wednesday. The persistent rain kept temperatures unusually low; Thursday was Beijing’s coldest early October day since 1951, with a maximum of just 10.6C – about 10-15C below average.
