After record heat waves, early autumn snow and severe cold invade China

Weather of Arabia - China is facing extreme weather this year, fluctuating between high temperatures that broke records in some drought-stricken parts of the country, while cold weather is sweeping other regions where the climate crisis makes weather conditions more turbulent.

In the south, dozens of drought warnings were issued to cities and towns in Jiangxi Province, warning that crops may suffer the worst drought conditions in 50 years. In the north, the temperature in Gansu Province reached 40.9 degrees Celsius in early October, breaking the record for the month of October. At a time when average temperatures are usually around 20 degrees Celsius, according to the weather service "Ogemite". The southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian also set new records for October.

According to Fang Qian, a climate scientist at Fujian Normal University, the country did not experience this kind of record temperature in October. Seasonal climate shifts are becoming more complex, Fang added, because atmospheric circulation is disrupted by rising global temperatures amid the climate crisis.

A few days apart, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued its first national cold snap warning, and temperatures dropped dramatically in central and eastern China, with historic early snowfall in many areas, including Shenyang.

The snowfall in Shenyang on October 9 set the record for the second-earliest snow since the start of meteorological data (more than a century ago), one day ahead of the previous record for the earliest snow in the city, which was on October 8, 1969.

Tianzhu Mountain in Anhui Province after the snow. pic.twitter.com/xKf3b8ak8P

— Sharing travel (@TripInChina) October 9, 2022

An autumn #snow blankets parts of Arxan in North China's Inner Mongolia. Enjoy the bird's eye view of the wonderland. #ChinaCanvas pic.twitter.com/30gDeGP90G

— Zhang Meifang张美芳 (@CGMeifangZhang) October 8, 2022

By October 10, heavy snow had accumulated in the towns of Zhangwu and Kangping, news.cgtn.com reports.

It has begun to snow in southwest China's #Sichuan Province, these beautiful views were taken in #Jiuzhaigou just after an early snow. #AmazingChina pic.twitter.com/JsKdOdjFbz

— Sui Lixi (@lixi_sui) October 11, 2022

Snow scenery in NE China's Liaoning Province. #AmazingChina @LiaoningChina pic.twitter.com/Rb5giukfPA

— Zhang Heqing张和清 (@zhang_heqing) October 12, 2022

According to climate scientist Fang, the dramatic fluctuations in temperature nationwide are particularly harmful to agriculture because crops cannot withstand long, hot, dry summers, while a sudden cold snap also slows the metabolic growth of plants.

"This definitely reduces crop yields and would be very bad for the ecosystem because forests in the subtropical region usually reach peak growth in summer and fall," he said.

Historic season of extreme weather in China

This year, China has suffered from severe and volatile weather, with hundreds of thousands affected by the heaviest rainfall in 60 years, and torrential rains battering the south of the country from April to June, causing torrential floods and landslides. It was followed by a heat wave that extended across central and southern China from mid-June to late August, dried up rivers and killed thousands of livestock, and the sweltering heat caused power outages and shutdowns of factories (due to China's heavy reliance on hydroelectric sources for electricity).

The continuous heat wave that extended into October was caused by a tropical high rise and hot air masses, as temperatures in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River broke records.

More: Shocking scenes... This is what the worst drought to hit China did

Arab weather explains the causes of snowfall in China

China has the highest mountain peaks around the world, which is the Tibetan Plateau or (Himalayan Mountains), which exceeds 4000 meters above sea level, and due to China's location near the sub-polar regions, the very cold air flows from eastern Russia towards the mountains of China, which coincides with the expansion of moisture From the Pacific Ocean, where all weather and geographical conditions combined to cause very heavy snowfalls on the Tibetan Plateau in China.

But despite the heavy snows on the Tibetan plateau, the southern parts of China are experiencing hot weather and temperatures in the thirties, as they are affected by hot air currents across the ocean.

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