The Chinese capital, Beijing, experienced its coldest December since records began in 1951, after a cold wave hit much of the country. Temperatures fell below -10C, alongside heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions at times. Northern and north-eastern parts of China experienced the coldest temperatures, as cold air moved southwards from the Arctic, with some areas reaching lows of -40C. The Beijing weather observatory recorded a period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing, which is the longest for December since records began 72 years ago. The…
Tag: Extreme weather
News live: Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea, Farrell says
From 5h ago Sarah Basford Canales Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea Earlier this morning, trade minister Don Farrell left open the possibility Australia could deploy navy vessels to the Red Sea amid ongoing attacks against commercial shipping from Iran-backed militia. This week the US asked Australia to send a warship to the region as part of its duties as a member of the international naval security taskforce, the combined maritime forces. It comes as the Yemen-based and Iran-backed Houthis warned…
Weather tracker: first snow of winter in Beijing causes widespread disruption
Heavy snowfall affected China last weekend in regions north of the Yangtze River, with Beijing experiencing its first snow of the season. As a consequence of the snow and ice, more than 180 bus routes were suspended across the city on Monday, with several trains and flights delayed or cancelled. Henan province, south of Beijing, had big falls over the weekend, with many areas recording depths of 100mm and even, in some places, up to 150mm. Shanxi province, to the south-west of Beijing, also saw some wintry conditions, with icy…
Hong Kong’s heaviest rain in at least 139 years triggers widespread flooding after typhoon
Hong Kong reported 158.1mm of rainfall in the space of an hour on Thursday night, the highest since records began in 1884, causing widespread flooding and disrupting road and rail traffic. The record rain, reported in the hour up to midnight on Thursday, comes just days after the city dodged major damage from a super typhoon. Late on Thursday, authorities in the Chinese city said various districts had been flooded and emergency services were conducting rescue operations. Members of the public were instructed to stay in a safe place. “Heavy…
Typhoon Haikui: cars caught up in strong currents of muddy water in China storms – video
Streets flooded in a south-eastern China city after storms from Typhoon Haikui made landfall on Tuesday. Strong currents of muddy water flowed around vehicles stranded on streets in Yongtai county in the coastal province of Fujian, where several areas recorded more than 300mm (1ft) of rainfall in just over 24 hours. The typhoon lost strength and became a tropical storm after its landfall, the national forecaster reported The Guardian
Typhoon Saola leaves trail of destruction in Hong Kong – video report
Typhoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong. Thousands of trees were felled and boats sank in the city’s harbour. Nearly 900,000 people had been evacuated in Hong Kong and China while business, transport and schools were suspended in advance of the typhoon making landfall The Guardian
Typhoon Saola makes landfall in southern China as nearly 900,000 evacuated
Typhoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and other parts of coastal southern China suspended business, transport and schools. Guangdong province’s meteorological bureau said the powerful storm churned into an outlying district of the city of Zhuhai, just south of Hong Kong at 3.30am local time. It was forecast to move in a south-westerly direction along the Guangdong coast at a speed of about 10mph (17km/h), gradually weakening before heading out to sea. China issues highest…
China issues highest flood warning as Typhoon Saola approaches its south-eastern coast – video
China has issued the highest flood warning as Typhoon Saola continued its journey toward the country’s south-eastern coast. The storm has clocked wind speeds of up to 209km/h threatening major urban areas including Hong Kong and Guangdong. Rail and air transport in Hong Kong have been suspended as local authorities warn people to remain indoors and away from windows The Guardian
Weather tracker: Hurricane Idalia leaves trail of damage in Florida
Hurricane Idalia struck northern Florida on Wednesday, bringing damaging winds and torrential rain. It made landfall near Keaton Beach on Florida’s Big Bend during the morning as a high-end category 3 hurricane, bringing sustained winds speeds near 125mph (200km/h) and a storm surge of 16ft along Florida’s north-west coastline. Due to very warm sea surface temperatures, the storm strengthened rapidly over the Gulf of Mexico to category 4 status, before weakening to category 3 as it made landfall. It brought extensive flooding as it passed through and damaged power lines,…
Typhoon Saola: China issues highest warning as storm approaches Hong Kong and Guangdong
China has issued the highest typhoon warning as Typhoon Saola crawled closer to the south-eastern coastline, threatening Hong Kong and other major manufacturing hubs in neighbouring Guangdong province. Chinese forecasters issued a typhoon red warning at 6am on Thursday. China’s National Meteorological Centre said Saola, which lies about 295km (183 miles) south-east of Guangdong province, will move north-west across the South China Sea at a speed of about 10km/h (6mph), gradually approaching the coast of Guangdong, then slowly weaken in intensity. Wind speeds at 9am were clocked at 209km/h. The…