Map shows 'catastrophic' heatwave belting China: 'Mind-blowing'
China is sweltering through a record-breaking heatwave which has been described as "catastrophic and unprecedented".
Most areas of South China are being engulfed by unseasonably warm temperatures for autumn, with some areas suffering through days of more than 40 degrees.
The country's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) has issued serious warnings, putting out a yellow alert on Saturday for Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou ad Chongqing, which were expected to reach temperatures of over 40C.
An orange alert was also issued in a number of areas in South China, including Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian, which are experiencing "excessive drought".
The unprecedented weather has broken historical records for the month of October, according to the Global Times.
"Temperatures in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River already broke the historical record of the same period in previous years," NMC meteorologist Zhang Tao told the publication.
"Before the cold air reaches south China, more places in this region will continue to swelter through extended heat, with the highest temperatures likely to keep growing, and possibly breaking more records."
Catastrophic and unprecedented heat in #China:
40.9C at Qingyang beat the national monthly heat record again.
12 provinces and 470 stations (including Shanghai) pulverized their records,in some cases even by 4C-5C and even above their September records.
Mind blowing heat wave. https://t.co/muz5SGUFa4— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) October 3, 2022
Weather historian Maximiliano Herrera tweeted the heatwave belting parts of China was "catastrophic and unprecedented".
"40.9C at Qingyang beat the national monthly heat record again. 12 provinces and 470 stations (including Shanghai) pulverised their records, in some cases even by 4-5C and even above their September records," he said.
"Mind-blowing heatwave."
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Another who shared a map showing the high temperatures said the heatwave in South China could "only be described as crazy".
The heatwave continues to lash parts of China after the country experienced its highest temperatures and most serious drought in six decades during its summer months, according to the Global Times.
Parts of China embrace cold snap
Meanwhile, it's a different story in parts of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which saw snowfall over the weekend due to the recent cold air, bringing the temperature down by 3 to 5 degrees.
Xinjiang's Urumqi City embraced the snowfall on Saturday, with the local temperature dipping significantly to below zero degrees.
The snowfall also swept the southern mountainous area of Manas County, with its thickness reaching around seven centimetres.
Since the local meadow was covered by snow as well, herdsmen herded their livestock back to pens for cold protection.
As this year's snowfall is earlier than the previous years, the local authorities have prepared feeds for livestock to minimise the impact of fluctuation in weather.
With Reuters
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