EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Climate

    After Record-Breaking 2022, China Told to Brace for Another Year of Weather Extremes

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Updated: February 9, 2023
    Edited by Irma Omerhodzic
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Mountain Forest Fire In Chongqing
    A wildfire in Chongqing, China sparked by drought and heat waves in 2022. VCG / VCG / Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    China had a year of extreme weather in 2022, suffering a record-breaking heat wave that caused roads to buckle and a drought that dried up parts of the Yangtze River. Flooding and drought in the country were the third and fourth costliest climate-fuelled weather disasters of the year. And, unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the country will get a break in 2023. 

    The China Meteorological Administration warned at a briefing Monday that the country’s north could see high heat again while the south was at risk from heavy flooding, and spokesman Song Shanyun said the climate crisis was to blame. 

    “At present, global warming is accelerating… and under the impact of climate change, the climate system is becoming increasingly unstable,” Song said, as Reuters reported. 

    China’s mean temperature was 0.62 degrees Celsius higher than average in 2022 at 10.5 degrees, government expert Jia Xiaolong said at the same briefing. The mean temperatures for spring, summer and autumn were all the highest on record. 

    The worst of the heat began in June with a heat wave that lasted more than 70 days and harmed crops, dried reservoirs and sparked wildfires. It surpassed the previous record for the longest heat wave, set in 2013 at 62 days, as Climate Home News reported at the time.

    More From EcoWatch
    • Are Solar Panels Worth It for Your Home?
    • Best Solar Companies
    • Solar Calculator: Estimate Your Home Solar Costs & Savings

    Along with the high temperatures, a drought in the southwestern regions of Sichuan and Chongqing reduced the hydropower supply, Reuters reported. This forced China to rely more on coal, with the daily burning of thermal coal reaching a record high of 8.5 million tonnes on Aug. 3. 

    To prepare for another year of high heat, the China Meteorological Administration advised the southern regions to make plans to ensure they had the energy resources to meet increased energy demand during the summer. 

    2022’s extreme heat wave led to increased awareness of climate change in China.

    “Many in China are starting to call 2022 as the first year of the new climate era,” Greenpeace East Asia’s Li Shuo told Climate Home at the time. “The only norm might be abnormality from now on.”

    In 2022, average rainfall in China was five percent lower than usual, Jia said Monday, as Reuters reported. However, June of 2022 also saw historic flooding that displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the southern provinces of Jiangxi and Guangdong. This year, the flooding is predicted for China’s northern regions. 

    Both heat and precipitation extremes are expected to worsen in China as the climate warms. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has observed that daily precipitation extremes have increased over parts of East Asia. 

    “Heavy precipitation will increase in frequency and intensity (high confidence), leading to more frequent landslides in some mountain areas,” the IPCC observed in its Sixth Assessment Report. 

    International scientists also echoed Song’s statement that the climate crisis is causing higher temperatures.

    “Heatwaves in China have definitely become more common and more intense as well as longer in duration because of human-induced climate change,’ climate attribution expert Friederike Otto told Climate Home in August.

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is a freelance writer and reporter with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch daily since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Arctic Sea Ice Maximum Extent Is Fifth Lowest on Record
      The Arctic sea ice extent for the Northern Hemisphere winter
      By Olivia Rosane
      Global Freshwater Demand Will Exceed Supply 40% by 2030, Experts Warn
      Samuel Taylor Coleridge first published the poem “The Rime of
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      Two Aging UK Coal Plants to Shutter in March Despite Government Requests to Remain on Standby
      Two aging UK coal plants will close at the end
      By Olivia Rosane

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Arctic Sea Ice Maximum Extent Is Fifth Lowest on Record
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Global Freshwater Demand Will Exceed Supply 40% by 2030, Experts Warn
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 17, 2023
        • Train Derails, Leaks an Estimated 5,000 Gallons of Fuel on Reservation in Washington
          by Paige Bennett
          March 17, 2023
        • Forest Recovery Can Offset Some Tropical Deforestation Emissions, But Not All
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Two Aging UK Coal Plants to Shutter in March Despite Government Requests to Remain on Standby
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Meet Europe’s Latest National Park, A Wild River in the Heart of Albania
          by Olivia Rosane
          March 17, 2023
        • Volkswagen Announces Plans for a More Affordable Electric Car
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          March 16, 2023
        • Property Values of Homes Near Solar Farms Appraised in New Study
          by Paige Bennett
          March 16, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more