BEIJING - Winter is expected to arrive late and suddenly in Beijing in 2023, as daytime temperatures hovered above 20 deg C, bathing the capital in a warm smog, while other parts of China basked in record highs above 30 deg C.
The official start of winter in the capital could come on Nov 6, state-run Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday, almost a week later than in previous years, with average temperatures expected to dive more than 10 deg C.
The weather in many parts of China had stayed stubbornly warm entering November, with cities in eastern and central provinces such as Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Henan still logging temperatures above 30 deg C.
As at 2pm on Wednesday, more than 600 meteorological stations across China had seen temperatures shatter historical highs for November, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
One station in eastern China’s Jinan city recorded an average temperature of 25 deg C on Wednesday, 12.6 deg C higher than normal and resembling a level observed at the end of August, Mr Jim Yang, a researcher at the China Meteorological Administration, said on the social media platform X.
Beijing logged its second-warmest October in over 60 years in 2023. Temperatures also averaged 3.4 deg C higher than normal in the last 10 days of the month, a record for the same period since 1961.
In tandem with the warm weather, smog has shrouded Beijing and its surrounding areas for days.
On Thursday, heavy and dense fog is forecast to envelop regions including Beijing and surrounding cities for the fifth day, with visibility dropping below 200m in parts of Hebei province, China’s National Meteorological Centre said.
Experts quoted by state media say the recent “rare” summer-like weather was due to weaker-than-usual cold air currents, which had also led to persistent hazy weather with heavy air pollution shrouding the city.
In coming days, temperatures across northern China are expected to drop sharply. North-eastern cities such as Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin will see a sharp drop of more than 15 deg C.
Other cities such as Beijing, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Xian and Shijiazhuang will see a sudden decline of 10 deg C to 15 deg C. REUTERS
