Climate in China was drier and hotter in 2022
Beijing, Feb 7 (EFE).- Hot and dry weather prevailed in China during 2022, a year in which droughts and floods were recorded, the National Climatological Center reported Monday.
Average temperatures in spring, summer and autumn reached the highest since 1951, while the average annual temperature was 0.62C higher than usual, said Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the institution.
The center’s report shows that the average precipitation level in 2022 was 606.1 millimeters, data that marks a minimum since 2012.
Chinese towns recorded an average of 94.3 days of rain or snow last year, a figure 7.4 days lower than usual and the lowest since 1961.
“Droughts hit eastern and central China in the spring and summer and severe ones hit the south in summer and autumn,” the Center reported, adding that the droughts were “longer.”
In 2022, China experienced 16.4 days with an average temperature above 35C, the highest since 1961, the country’s National Meteorological Administration said last month.
Last summer, the drought led to scenes such as people in Chongqing crossing the normally mighty Jialing River on motorbikes, whose bed was exposed due to the drop in water level, or the discovery of 600-year-old Buddhist sculptures previously covered by water.
The high temperatures recorded also caused provinces dependent on hydropower such as Sichuan to restrict the use of energy to some industries.
Local meteorologist Chen Lijuan said periods of intense heat, which start “ever sooner and end later,” could become the “new normal” in the country under “the effect of climate change.” EFE
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