Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) in Beijing Photo: VCG

The average temperature in China in 2024 was 10.9 C, which is 1.01 C higher than the long-term average of 9.89 C, according to latest statistics from National Climate Center. It surpasses the previous record of 10.71 C set in 2023, marking a new historical high. 

The national average number of high-temperature days (daily maximum temperatures ≥ 35.0 C) reached 15.6 days, which is 6.6 days more than the long-term average, making it the second-highest since 1961, surpassed only by 2022.

The Shanghai Meteorological Service released top 10 weather and climate events in Shanghai for 2024 on Wednesday, revealing that the annual average temperature of 18.8 C in the urban area of Shanghai has set a new record. It marks 2024 as the hottest year since meteorological records began in Shanghai in 1873.

Under current climate policies, the world faces warming of as much as 3.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, according to a United Nations report released in October, the Reuters reported.

Global Times