1. Low temperature, rain and snow process emerged during Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and meteorological departments provided elaborate services.

2. The second strongest dragon-boat rainfall since 1961in history affected the Pearl River Basin.

3. The Songliao Basin suffered extreme rainfall, and the Panjin section around the Raoyang River breached.

4. Heavy casualties were caused by short-term heavy rainfall in midsummer.

5.The National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued its first red warning of heat wave since 1961 as the strongest heat wave raged across China.

6. Drought condition continued in the flood season in the Yangtze River Basin and rain enhancement operation helped those affected areas.

7. Rare autumn typhoon Muifa made 4 landfalls and set the record of the northernmost typhoons making landfall since 1949.

8. Frequent cold waves in autumn and precipitous temperature drop adversely affected public travel, farming and animal husbandry production.

9. Twister weather was sporadic and frequent, and meteorological departments released forecasting and early warning for the first time.

10. The Global Space Weather Center responded in time to ensure safety as the number of medium and above scale solar flares events surpassed the total number of those in the past three years.

1. Low temperature, rain and snow process emerged during Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, and meteorological departments provided elaborate services.

In February 2022, the average temperature of China was 2.0℃ lower than that in the same period of normal years, and the precipitation was 56% higher, with features of cold and humidity. From November 11 to 14, 2022, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia witnessed snowfall, with the snow depth of 10 to 16 cm in northern and eastern Beijing, Datong and Xinzhou in Shanxi, Baoding, Langfang and Cangzhou in Hebei. Meteorological departments made an all-out endeavor to carry out precise monitoring, accurate forecasting and refined services to ensure the smooth host of Beijing 2022.

National average temperature anomaly distribution map in February 2022

2. The second strongest dragon-boat rainfall since 1961in history affected the Pearl River Basin.

From May 21 to June 21, 2022, there were six heavy rainfall processes in the Pearl River Basin, with the accumulative precipitation exceeding 400 mm in most areas. Central-northern Guangxi, central-northern Guangdong, southern Hunan, and southern Jiangxi were subjected to 600 to 900 mm accumulative rainfall. Precipitation in most of the above areas was more than 50% higher than that in the same period of normal years. The average precipitation in the Pearl River Basin registered 440mm, 53% more than that in the same period of normal years, ranking the second highest in the same period since 1961.

National precipitation distribution map from May 21 to June 21, 2022

3. The Songliao Basin suffered extreme rainfall, and the Panjin section around the Raoyang River breached.

From June to July, 2022, the average precipitation in three provinces in Northeast China (334.9 mm, 39% more than that in the same period of normal years) ranked the second highest since 1961. The precipitation of Jilin (414.2 mm, 65% more) and the number of rainfall days (37.8 days) topped the charts in the history of the same period. The average precipitation of Liaoning recorded 420.6 mm, 70% more than that of the same period of normal years, and exceeded the total annual summer rainfall, which was the highest in the history of the same period in nearly 3 decades. Some road infrastructures were damaged or disrupted and agricultural products were also adversely affected.

Annual variation of precipitation in three provinces in Northeast China from June to July (1961-2022)

4. Heavy casualties were caused by short-term heavy rainfall in midsummer.

From July 15 to 16, 2022, heavy rainfall occurred in central and northern parts of Sichuan. In Beichuan County, rainfall in 12 hours exceeded 50 mm in 21 meteorological stations, and in 8 meteorological stations the precipitation exceeded 100 mm. In Qingpian Township, Beichuan County, accumulative rainfall reached 102.5 mm in 6 hours on July 16, 2022. The heavy rain triggered flash floods that swept away some houses and disrupted transportation, power and communication. More than 20,000 people were affected.

Heavy rainfall caused flash floods in Beichuan, Sichuan

5.The National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued its first red warning of heat wave since 1961 as the strongest heat wave raged across China.

From June 13 to August 30, 2022, large scale continuous heat wave process occurred in eastern parts of China, which lasted for 79 days in total, becoming the longest regional high temperature process since 1961. On August 13, 2022, NMC issued its first red warning of heat wave since 1961 when the meteorological warning system established in China. In this heat wave process, 1,692 meteorological stations witnessed high temperature of 35℃ or above (accounting for 70% of the total number of meteorological stations in China), which was the second most in history since 1961. The results showed that the overall intensity of this event was the strongest since the complete meteorological observation began in 1961. The continued high temperature has adversely affected human health, agricultural production and power supply.

Historical yearly variation of the national average number of high temperature days from June 13 to August 30 (1961-2022)

6. Drought condition continued in the flood season in the Yangtze River Basin and rain enhancement operation helped those affected areas.

From July to the first half of November, 2022, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River as well as Sichuan and Chongqing areas continued to experience heat wave and low rainfall, and were exposed to summer drought and autumn drought. The number of drought days in the Yangtze River Basin was 77, 54 days more than the same period of normal years, which was the most since 1961. On August 18, 2022, NMC and the National Climate Centre （NCC） jointly issued warning of drought for the first time since 2013.On August 27, 2022, China Meteorological Administration (CMA) dispatched several aircraft to conduct a large-scale air-ground joint rain enhancement operation in the catchment basin of Danjiangkou Reservoir for the first time to ensure water supply and electricity for the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. The continuous high temperature and drought had a tremendous impact on agricultural production, water resources supply, energy supply and human health in the Yangtze River Basin, and also exerted a certain adverse impact on the local ecosystem.

Satellite monitoring images of Poyang Lake on June 14 (L)  and October 18 (R), 2022

7. Rare autumn typhoon Muifa made 4 landfalls and set the record of the northernmost typhoons making landfall since 1949.

Typhoon Muifa, the 12th typhoon of 2022, made landfall in Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong and Liaoning four times between September 14 and 16, 2022, shattering the record for the northernmost landfall of a typhoon since 1949. Under the combined influence of Muifa and cold air, winds of scale 12 to 15 appeared in the coastal areas of Shanghai, Zhejiang and some islands and reefs, with the highest gust appearing in Xugong Island of Zhoushan, Zhejiang (scale 16, 53.6 m/s), and the cumulative gale of scale 12 or above in the sea surface of northeastern Zhejiang lasted for 12 hours. The cumulative rainfall in Shaoxing, Ningbo and Zhoushan of Zhejiang and Qingdao and Yantai of Shandong reached 250 to 500 mm, and 600 to 707 mm in Shaoxing Shangyu, Shengzhou and Yuyao, Ningbo. On the other hand, the rain brought by the typhoon also alleviated the drought condition in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, northern Zhejiang and southern Anhui.

After typhoon Muifa came along, the pedestrian sidewalk in Ningbo, Zhejiang was submerged.

8. Frequent cold waves in autumn and precipitous temperature drop adversely affected public travel, farming and animal husbandry production.

From October 2 to 6, 2022, a large-scale cold wave occurred in the central and eastern parts of China. The temperature drop in southeastern Henan, Anhui, Hubei and northeastern Hunan registered more than 20℃, and the temperature drop in Xinye and Qinyang of Henan exceeded 25℃. The cold wave put an end to Indian summer weather in southern China.From November 30 to December 1, 2022, most parts of China were hit by cold wave again, with precipitous temperature drop accompanied by rain, snow and strong winds in many areas. The temperature drop range above 14℃ has covered more than half of the country's total area (55%), and the temperature drop exceeded 18℃ in some areas.

The maximum cooling scale distribution map from November 26 to December 1, 2022

9. Twister weather was sporadic and frequent, and meteorological departments released forecasting and early warning for the first time.

In 2022, a total of 25 twisters were recorded, including 11 of moderate or above intensity and six of strong intensity, the same as the average of the previous three years. On May 14, 2022, Wuchang in Heilongjiang was battered by a short wind, which was estimated to be a weak to moderate strength tornado. On July 20 and 22, 2022, two large scale strong convection processes occurred in Huanghuai River and Huaihe River. Meteorological departments, based on the latest monitoring and diagnosis technology, successfully issued a tornado forecast and early warning for the first time, to remind the public of bracing for potential disasters.

National twister distribution map in 2022

10. The Global Space Weather Center responded in time to ensure safety as the number of medium and above scale solar flares events surpassed the total number of those in the past three years.

Solar activity has become increasingly active since December 2019, when the sun entered its 25th cycle. In April 2022, there were 28 moderate flares and 5 major flares, more than the total of those with moderate or above intensity in the previous three years. Solar flares can cause drastic changes in the ionosphere for a short time, leading to the interruption of short-wave communication between the ground and the upper air, and the low accuracy of navigation, thus adversely affecting the safety of aviation flight.

Image of the sun observed by FY-3E

Source: Official Website of China Meteorological Administration (https://www.cma.gov.cn/en2014/20150311/20200414/202301/t20230119_5271645.html)

Editor: LIU Shuqiao