The hottest August since 1961 was recorded in China this year, according to the country’s national meteorological service.
“In August, China recorded prolonged and extreme high temperatures,” the China Meteorological Agency said, adding that “the national average temperature was the highest since the corresponding month in 1961.”
According to the meteorological service, the average temperature across China reached 22.96 degrees in August, which was 1.5° Celsius higher than in any normal year.
Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the national climate center, noted that while “northern counties have experienced frequent and very destructive storms,” at the same time, “large-scale heat waves have persisted in areas where ski resorts are located.”
Much of the northern hemisphere, from Europe to Asia, has been hit by intense heatwaves in recent weeks. Climatologists are already counting on 2024 to be the year in which a new record high temperature is set, the second in a row, due to global warming. The European Copernicus Observatory believes the chances of this happening are increasing, as the three summer months have broken records.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, ranks first in the world – in absolute terms – in emissions of the gases blamed for global climate disruption. Beijing has pledged to peak emissions by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2060.