After enduring weeks of record-breaking heat, the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing was slammed by torrential rain and fierce winds on Monday, causing temperatures to plummet, leaving the city drenched and reeling from the abrupt weather shift.

By 1 p.m. Sunday, the temperature in Chongqing’s Shapingba District hit 35 degrees Celsius, marking the city’s 77th high-temperature day this year — a national record among provincial capitals. Just 24 hours later, temperatures plunged, with most areas falling below 18 degrees Celsius.

Over the next two days, heavy rain swept across 38 districts and counties, including Fengdu, Yunyang, and Jiangbei, with Kuzhugou village in Fengdu County recording 190.7 millimeters of rain. Central and northern Chongqing faced winds between level 8 and 10, with gusts reaching up to 101 kilometers per hour.

Chongqing Meteorological Bureau’s chief forecaster, Hu Chunmei, told domestic media that a large cold front on Sept. 30 brought a significant drop in temperature and the sudden rainfall. Over the National Day holiday the city is expected to see cloudy to overcast weather, with light rain and cooler temperatures, according to the local meteorological bureau.

By Oct. 1, Chongqing had issued 24 high-temperature alerts this year, including 16 consecutive days of warnings from Aug. 20 to Sept. 5. In Beibei District, temperatures hovered close to 40 degrees Celsius for 13 straight days, surpassing last year’s record of 9 days. As of mid-September, 32 districts and counties faced mild to severe droughts, with the heat causing school postponements and even wildfires.

Tang Hongyu, chief engineer of the Chongqing Climate Center, stated that this year saw the highest number of high-temperature days in the city, with longer durations, broader impacts, and more extreme conditions.

This summer’s extreme heat wasn’t confined to Chongqing. Across China, the summer of 2024 was unusually warm and humid, with the average temperature reaching 22.3 degrees Celsius — 1.1 degrees higher than previous years.

Along with rising temperatures, several parts of the country also experienced a drastic increase in extreme precipitation. The national average rainfall this summer reached 352.4 millimeters, 6.2% higher than the historical average, with the east receiving more rain than the west.

Extreme rainfall events are becoming more frequent, with 18 significant regional downpours and 58 weather stations reporting record-breaking daily precipitation, while over 20 regions suffered severe flooding.

The National Climate Center has warned that climate change is driving this trend, leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather, including earlier and longer-lasting high-temperature days. “The normalization of extreme weather events is indeed becoming a trend,” said Tang.

Editor: Apurva.

(Header image: Left: People out during a rainy day in Chongqing, Sept. 30, 2024; Right: A woman uses a fan to block the sun in Chongqing, Sept. 18, 2024. VCG)