Northern China is experiencing a notable increase in heavy rains, temperatures, and humidity, leading some experts to suggest a possible “surification” of the region’s climate. Though, they caution that it is indeed too early to confirm a permanent structural change.

Analyses from Chinese state media indicate that as July, several rounds of intense rainfall have affected overlapping areas in the north and northeast of the Asian giant.

In Beijing, severe floods following heavy rains in late July resulted in over 30 deaths, mirroring the events of the summer of 2023.

Meteorologists attribute these changes to the subtropical anticyclone of the Pacific, which moved earlier and further north this year. The rainy season in the northern regions began on July 5, the earliest as 1961, according to data from the Daily Official of the People.

This system introduced warm and wet air into high latitudes, which, when interacting with cold air, caused persistent rainfall, a pattern more typical of southern China.

Expert Observations

Meteorologist Zhu Dingzhen has observed changes in the summer season. “These years I have noticed that summer in Beijing is a bit more like that of the south: the warmest period of days is increasingly extended,” he said recently in statements to CCTV state television.

“These years I have noticed that summer in Beijing is a bit more like that of the south: the warmest period of days is increasingly extended.”

According to Zhu, between 2013 and 2022, the average annual relative humidity in Beijing was between 5 % and 10 % higher than that of 2003-2012, with a more marked increase in summer, exceeding this year even brands noted by traditionally hot and humid cities such as Nankín (this) for some days.

Experts cited by the Diario del Pueblo say that global warming “is closely linked” to the early displacement to the north of this year’s subtropical anticyclone.

The Blue Book of Climate Change of China (2024) indicates that the number of warm day diurnal days increases at average 6.7 per decade, which extends the warm station and raises the persistence of heat episodes.

zhu urges caution,noting that climatic criteria require at least thirty years of data to confirm a regional change. However, he acknowledges that global warming is the overarching context, leading to more warm days and persistent periods of high humidity.

In recent summers, extreme climatic events have caused significant damage. In 2022, intense heat waves and droughts affected central and eastern China, causing electricity supply problems for industries dependent on hydraulic energy. A year earlier, severe floods in the central province of Henan, caused by unprecedented rainfall, resulted in over 300 deaths.