Weather tracker: extreme rainfall and heat hit China amid Asian heatwave

Many people in China have experienced a variety of weather extremes in recent days. Parts of southern and eastern China experienced prolonged periods of torrential rainfall, as the summer rains known as “dragon boat water” got off to a remarkable start.

The city of Yulin in the Guangxi region experienced 35 hours of non-stop rain on 8-9 June, while the nearby city of Beihai was flooded after 614.7mm of rainfall over 24 hours in the same period. This is approximately a third of the city’s average yearly precipitation, and a June record for the Guangxi region. It is in stark contrast to May, when Guangxi experienced its lowest rainfall in 60 years.

Meanwhile, parts of eastern China were hit by severe thunderstorms over the weekend. Gale-force winds and hail caused damage to many areas, with three people killed in the city of Wuhu in the Anhui province when a shipyard crane was toppled.

Simultaneously, many parts of China have been experiencing high temperatures. Much of northern China has seen temperatures in the high 30s Celsius in recent days, with parts of Xinjiang province rising above 40C over the weekend. Energy companies are appealing to citizens to reduce energy use in some cities, as the increased use of air conditioning placed strain on the electricity grid.

These high temperatures come as part of the ongoing Asian heatwave, which continues to break records across the continent. There have been several all-time highs in Siberia in June, and monthly records for Hong Kong and Vietnam, while Japan declared the period from March to May its warmest on record.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall along India’s Gujarat coast on 15 June, with winds of 78 mph, gusting 87mph, battering the Kutch district. As the tropical cyclone continues to move further inland over the coming days, storm surges of up to 3 metres are expected to follow, leading to widespread flooding.

Close to 95,000 people have so far been evacuated, a large portion of these from the Kutch district. Moreover, due to the anticipated disruption of Biparjoy on land and out at sea, fishing operations have been halted until further notice, several railway operations have been cancelled and schools have been closed.