China sees more dry and warm weather in 2022

Dry and warm weather prevailed in China last year, while droughts and floods caused severe damage in some regions, according to an official report on Monday.

The average temperatures in 2022's spring, summer and autumn, respectively, hit record highs since 1951, while the average temperature throughout the year was 0.62 degrees Celcius higher than usual, said Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the National Climate Center.

The newly released report by the China Meteorological Administration showed that the average precipitation was 606.1 millimeters last year, the lowest since 2012. Rain and snow were seen in 94.3 days on average, 7.4 days less than usual, the lowest since 1961.

Meanwhile, it said the droughts and floods badly hit some regions in the country in 2022.

Droughts hit eastern China and central China in spring and summer, and severe ones swept the south in summer and autumn with longer duration and a larger range.

Torrential rains were frequently recorded in the country in 2022, which caused severe floods in southern China and northeastern China.