China Set for Sudden Change from Warm to Freezing in Year of Extreme Weather

Vehicles move on a street in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) as the city is shrouded in smog, in China November 1, 2023. REUTER/Tingshu Wang
Vehicles move on a street in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) as the city is shrouded in smog, in China November 1, 2023. REUTER/Tingshu Wang
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China Set for Sudden Change from Warm to Freezing in Year of Extreme Weather

Vehicles move on a street in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) as the city is shrouded in smog, in China November 1, 2023. REUTER/Tingshu Wang
Vehicles move on a street in Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) as the city is shrouded in smog, in China November 1, 2023. REUTER/Tingshu Wang

Temperatures in northern China are set to plunge as much as 20 degrees Celsius after the second-warmest October in decades, but warmer-than-usual conditions could soon be back under the influence of El Nino.
A stream of cold air entering China on Saturday from the northwest will join one that arrived on Thursday to push temperatures sharply lower, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said.
In the sparsely populated deserts and grasslands of the northern Inner Mongolia region, temperatures could plummet on Friday and again from Saturday while blizzards could hit the Xinjiang region in the northwest, Reuters.
From next week, most of the northeast is expected to see maximum temperatures dive to the single-digits or below freezing as cold air moves east and south, in an abrupt reversal of a recent "big warming", the CMA said.
While freezing temperatures are not uncommon for the time of year, the sudden change is unusual.
A few days ago, uncharacteristically warm weather saw parts of northern China post record high temperatures exceeding 30C.
Weather has become more extreme in China in recent years, destroying urban infrastructure as well as farmland, causing hefty economic losses and raising fears about the pace and impact of global warming.
This summer, typhoons dumped historic rainfall in inland regions unaccustomed to tropical storms. Typhoon Doksuri caused the worst flooding since 1963 in the Hai river basin that encompasses Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.
Authorities are due to issue 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of sovereign bonds to help rebuild areas hit by the floods and improve infrastructure to cope with disasters.
Earlier in the year, northern China basked in unseasonal heat, with temperatures reaching summer-levels, shortly after a very cold January, when the northernmost city of Mohe saw the temperature dip to a record minus 53C.
Winter this year, however, could be warmer due to a moderate El Nino, Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of China's National Climate Centre, told a press conference on Friday.
El Nino is a natural climate pattern associated with warming of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific. The phenomenon occurs every two to seven years, lasting nine to 12 months.
"The sea surface temperature in the east-central equatorial Pacific will continue to exceed 0.5C in November, and the El Nino event will persist in the 2023/2024 winter, with a peak intensity of 1.5-2C," Jia said.
But statistics showed that winter temperatures could fluctuate greatly during El Nino, Jia warned.



Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
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Elderly Man Dies as Wildfires Rage in Türkiye, Forcing Evacuations and Road Closures

A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem
A drone view shows burnt trees and destroyed houses in the aftermath of a wildfire in Seferihisar near Izmir, Türkiye, June 30, 2025. REUTERS/Ufuk Erdem

Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Türkiye, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes.

The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee.

A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis.

That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road.

Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind.

In the past week, Türkiye has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.

The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed.

As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Türkiye's parliament adopted the country’s first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053.

The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements.

The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law’s symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings.

“The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,” the group said.