Global top 10 weather and climate events in 2022
1. Frequent severe rainstorm and flooding slammed Brazil and resulted in grave disasters and losses.
2. Severe storm “Eunice” enveloped West Europe and gust broke record in England.
3. Typhoon Megi and Nalgae walloped the Philippines.
4. Eastern South Africa was subjected to the heaviest rainfall in about 6 decades and incurred heavy casualties.
5. Record flooding has inundated one third of Pakistan.
6. Capital circle of Republic of Korea experienced the strongest rainstorm in nearly 10 decades, triggering serious waterlogging.
7. Extreme heat wave in summer sweltered in North Hemisphere, and severe drought occurred in a handful of countries.
8. Bomb cyclone and epic cold wave walloped the United States.
9. Volcano in Togo erupted, which might facilitated the occurrence of extreme weather and climate events.
10. Triple La Nina first emerged during the 21st century, affecting the climate condition in many regions of the world.
1. Frequent severe rainstorm and flooding slammed Brazil and resulted in grave disasters and losses.
From February 11 to 16, 2022, extreme precipitation occurred in many places in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The average precipitation of the whole state registered about 67 mm, which was 1 to 2 times more than that in the same period of normal years. Petropolis was subjected to rainfall of 210 mm in three hours on February 15, exceeding the usual rainfall in February. It was the largest daily rainfall since 1932. From late May to early June, 2022, northeastern parts of Brazil were slammed by continuous heavy rainfall, with accumulated precipitation of more than 50 mm in most areas. Among them, western Roraima State and northeastern Ceara State experienced rainfall of 100 to 300 mm, with some areas exposed to more than 300 mm rainfall. Heavy rainfall has caused severe flooding and landslides in many parts of Brazil.
The cloud cluster affected Petropolis, Brazil captured by FY-3D
2. Severe storm “Eunice” enveloped West Europe and gust broke record in England.
On February 18, 2022, the Atlantic storm "Eunice" battered a few countries in Western Europe. Gale with force of 8 and higher occurred in southern United Kingdom, English Channel, southern North Sea, Western Europe and northern coastal regions of Central Europe. The gust in southern United Kingdom and English Channel reached scale 10 to 12. A maximum gust of about 196 km/h (54.4 m/s) was observed at the Needles, on the Isle of Wight, UK, setting a record for the highest gust ever recorded in England. More than 400 flights were cancelled and a large number of trains stopped running. Power facilities were damaged in many places and more than 1.3 million households lost power.
The image of Storm Uunice captured by FY-3D
3. Typhoon Megi and Nalgae walloped the Philippines.
Typhoon Megi, the second typhoon of 2022 with the maximum wind speed of 20 meters per second, made landfall on Calicoan Island, Givan, Eastern Samar Province, the Philippines, on April 10, 2022. Due to its influence, the average precipitation in central Philippines exceeded 50 mm on April 9, 2022 alone, and the average precipitation in the region exceeded 170 mm from April 9 to 12, 2022, ranking the highest for the same period since 1980, with some areas exceeding 300 mm. Typhoon Megi affected more than two million people in the Philippines. Floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Nalgae took a toll on more than 3 million people.
On October 30, 2022, a street in Cavite, the Philippines was inundated by flooding.
4. Eastern South Africa was subjected to the heaviest rainfall in about 6 decades and incurred heavy casualties.
In the first half of April, 2022, KwaZulu-Natal province in eastern South Africa was in the grip of extremely heavy rainfall rarely seen in nearly 6 decades. The accumulative rainfall on its east coast exceeded 100 mm, and the local rainfall exceeded 300 mm, which was more than 2 times that of the same period of normal years. On April 11 and 12, 2022 alone, the local rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal exceeded 300 mm, shattering the historical maximum record in the past 6 decades. The city of Durban and surrounding areas experienced the rain of more than 450 mm in 48 hours, nearly half of the city's annual rainfall. Flooding caused by heavy rainfall has left more than 40,000 people homeless. Large swathes of land have been swamped, and many public and rail facilities and power systems have been damaged.
Percentage distribution map of precipitation anomaly over South Africa from 9 to 13 April, 2022
5. Record flooding has inundated one third of Pakistan.
From June to August, 2022, Pakistan was frequently struck by heavy rainfall. The national average precipitation was 68% higher in June, 2022, 180% higher in July and 243% higher in August, 2022, among which the precipitation in July and August was the highest in the history of the same period since 1961. Sindh Province recorded precipitation of 1228.5 mm in August, 2022 and maximum daily precipitation of 355 mm, both setting monthly and daily records. Continuous heavy rains have inundated about a third of Pakistan, affecting more than 33 million people. 45% of the main crop, and cotton, have been destroyed by the floods. At the invitation of the Pakistani government, a Chinese government expert team composed of the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Ministry of Water Resources and CMA, paid a visit to Pakistan to exchange views on disaster assessment, disaster preparedness and shared China's experience in flood control and relief.
Summer precipitation real condition map of in Pakistan in 2022
6. Capital circle of Republic of Korea experienced the strongest rainstorm in nearly 10 decades, triggering serious waterlogging.
From August 7 to 11, 2022, the capital area of Korea was hit by extreme rainstorm, which was characterized by long duration, short-term heavy rainfall and large accumulative rainfall. The maximum rainfall in one hour near the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) in Seoul recorded 141.5 mm, 259 mm in three hours, and 303.5 mm in six hours on August 8, 2022. The precipitation in Seoul registered 380 mm on that day, exceeding the usual rainfall in August and breaking the daily precipitation record, ranking the heaviest in nearly a century. Extreme rainstorm has caused severe waterlogging, inundation of many cities, submerge of subway and underground facilities, flooding of a large number of vehicles and landslides in some areas, forcing more than 7,000 people to evacuate their homes.
7. Extreme heat wave in summer sweltered in North Hemisphere, and severe drought occurred in a handful of countries.
Northern Hemisphere was exceedingly sweltering in the summer of 2022. Sustained heat wave emerged in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and North America, affecting the lives of nearly 5 billion people and causing wildfires in many countries. In mid-July, the temperature in Paris reached 40.5℃. The temperature in the UK hit 40℃ for the first time. The barometer registered 47℃ in Portugal. More than 60% of Europe was in drought due to high temperature and low rainfall. Wildfires were raging in many parts of the western United States. Extremely hot and dry conditions were making them difficult to contain. Central and eastern China has met with the strongest heat wave since 1961. The drought has affected sectors like food, shipping, and energy around the world, greatly affecting production and life.
8. Bomb cyclone and epic cold wave walloped the United States.
In late January, 2022, a "bomb cyclone" hit northeastern United States, causing blizzard in several states. The winter storm blanketed 10 states in eastern US, including Massachusetts, New York and other states with strong winds and snow, with snow exceeding more than 30 cm. An "epic cold wave " swept across US from December 22 to 24, 2022. 240 million people across the US were warned of extreme cold. Two cold waves and snowstorms at the beginning and end of 2022 severely affected local transportation and power supplies. More than 10 thousand flights were canceled across US, and at least 1.6 million residential and commercial customers were cut off power.
Monitoring image of bomb cyclone captured by FY-3D
9. Volcano in Togo erupted, which might facilitated the occurrence of extreme weather and climate events.
On January 14 and 15, 2022, local time, a series of underwater volcanoes in Hongahaapai, Tonga, the South Pacific, erupted. The main body of the ash cloud reached a height of about 18 km, which crossed the troposphere and reached the bottom of the lower stratosphere. The eruption was estimated to have produced about 3.6 million tons of volcanic mineral particles, making it the largest volcanic eruption in the world in nearly 3 decades.Tsunami warnings have been issued consecutively in Oceanian island nations, Japan, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Chile. When volcanic ash entered the atmosphere, it could change atmospheric radiative forcing and produce the cooling effect, which has some influence on global climate. In addition, strong volcanic eruptions might increase the odds of local extreme weather and climate events.
FY-4B monitored volcanic eruption in Tonga
10. Triple La Nina first emerged during the 21st century, affecting the climate condition in many regions of the world.
According to the monitoring of the National Climate Centre, the current La Nina event in the equatorial Middle Eastern Pacific was continuing and was on track to peak in the winter of 2020/2023 and last until spring 2023. This would be the first "triple" La Nina event of the 21st century, namely, the formation of three consecutive winters. Globally, La Nina event can cause heavy rain and flooding in northern South America, an increased risk of flooding in northern Australia, Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and low rainfall in Argentina. When La Nina lasts for a long time, droughts will be common in central Africa and southeastern United States, and northeastern Brazil, India and southern Africa are susceptible to flooding. From late May to early June 2022, persistent heavy rainfall pelted northeastern Brazil. In the past two years, continuous drought in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan and other countries in central and eastern Africa had caused food shortages and worsening ecological conditions, all of which were related to La Nina event to some degree.
Global sea surface temperature anomaly distribution in November 2022 (unit: ℃) and Nino3.4 region (170°W-120°W; 5°S-5°N) position diagram
Source: Official Website of China Meteorological Administration (https://www.cma.gov.cn/en2014/20150311/20200414/202301/t20230119_5271645.html)
Editor: LIU Shuqiao