"Today's weather-the temperatures of four 'stove cities,' Wuhan, Nanjing, Chongqing and Nanchang, are 21 degrees Celsius, 22 degrees Celsius, 25 degrees Celsius and 23 degrees Celsius, respectively, while the temperatures of the three 'ice cities,' Harbin, Changchun and Shenyang, are 35 degrees Celsius, 34 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsiu,s respectively." This is a passage recently spread on micro blogs, which recounts the recent unusual weather in China.
The maximum temperature of Nanjing on June 9 was 19.8 degrees Celsius, the fourth lowest daily high in early June since 1905, only next to June 8, 1911, June 7, 1987, and June 1, 1954, and also a record low for the same day in 100 years, according to the statistics of the JiangsuClimateCenter.
"The weather is so unusual." Except the college entrance examination, the weather is the most discussed topic of the general public recently. Nanjing experienced extreme heat at this time in former years, but due to abnormal atmospheric circulation this year, the subtropical high is not strong, thus the cold air can easily blow into inland areas. As a result, the rain belt stagnated in the southern parts of China.
In contrast, the temperature of northeastern China rose rapidly, especially in the last 10 days. The average temperatures of Heilongjiang and eastern Inner Mongolia in the last 10 days were higher than in previous years, a rise of four to six degrees Celsius. In addition, Harbin witnessed its hottest summer in 50 years, a temperature high of 36 degrees Celsius on June 9.
By June 8, half of the entire nation has entered into spring or summer, and the summer is different in some large cities. Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei already entered summer in mid-May. Most parts of southern China have entered summer, except Shanghai and Nanjing, which have not yet entered summer because of frequent rainfalls. In addition, parts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are still experiencing winter. As a result, there are three seasons in China at the moment.
The cold wave that began at the end of 2009 has continually affected the weather until now. Meteorologists said this indicated that global warming has entered into a "cold cycle." Nanjing has experienced its coldest spring since 1992, and even experienced snow in April. The average temperature of Nanjing did not reached the standard of summer, which is above 22 degrees Celsius for five continuous days, until June except for the unusual heat during the May Day holidays.
Nanjing has never failed to enter summer by June in the 21st century; however, this was not the first time in 100 years of history that summer did not arrive in Nanjing until mid to late June. |
