2023 the warmest year in China since 1951: report

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The average temperature in China in 2023 was 10.71 degrees Celsius, the highest level since the keeping of official meteorological records began in the country in 1951, a climate report compiled by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) has disclosed.

Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the National Climate Center under the CMA, said that amid global warming, the average temperature in China last year was 0.82 degrees Celsius higher than the recent average. Jia shared this information when he introduced the climate report at a CMA press conference held Wednesday in Beijing.

Over the past year, 127 weather stations across the country reported daily temperatures breaking or matching the highest temperatures on record, Jia added, citing the report.

According to the report, average precipitation in China stood at 615 millimeters in 2023, 3.9 percent lower than the overall average. This is the second-lowest level since 2012.

Last year, the country also experienced 37 regional-level rainstorms that led to flood disasters in some areas, while southwest China's Yunnan Province saw its worst meteorological drought since 1961, with the drought there lingering across the winter and spring seasons, according to the report.