China experienced its hottest month on record in July, with the highest average temperature since the country began releasing comprehensive data in 1961, the China Meteorological Administration said on Thursday.

Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the National Climate Center, said the national average temperature hit a record 23.2 C last month, 1.1 C higher than in the previous hottest July dating back to 1961.

"In July, China encountered a combination of extreme heavy rainfall and extreme high temperatures nationwide," Jia said at a news conference in Beijing.

Southern China faced a widespread and prolonged heat wave in July, with multiple regions experiencing continuous high temperatures for over 20 days.

A total of 59 national meteorological stations recorded daily maximum temperatures that broke or hit historical records.

Temperatures above 41 C were observed in places like Cili in Hunan province, Tongshan in Hubei province and Lishui in Zhejiang province, Jia said.

Hot weather records were shattered around the world last month, with July 22 being Earth's hottest day on record as the global daily average temperature reached 17.15 C.

The sudden rise in average daily temperature from July 21 to 22 was mainly due to significantly higher than average temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in North America and Europe, as well as most of Antarctica, Jia said.

According to forecasts, temperatures in most parts of China will remain higher than usual this month.

Two significant heat waves will hit in the first half of August, and the high temperatures are expected to ease late in the month, the CMA said.

In July, national average precipitation was 140 millimeters, 15 percent more than in the same period in previous years and the third highest since 1961.

The previous two records, when the country was hit by catastrophic floods, were 148 mm in July 1996 and 146.8 mm in July 1998.

Frequent heavy rains battered a large expanse of China from north to south last month, with the provinces of Shandong and Jilin receiving their highest precipitation since 1961.

Daily precipitation records were broken at 33 national meteorological stations. Among them, Sheqi in Henan province, Hengshan in Hunan province and Pingyi in Shandong saw daily precipitation exceed 300 mm.

Jia said the rainy season in North China began on July 22, and on July 30 Beijing experienced its most intense rainfall since the start of flood season.

Local authorities urged extra efforts to prevent secondary disasters such as floods and landslides, he said.

A total of 2,492 red alerts were issued nationwide in July, an 84 percent increase compared to the average for the month in the previous seven years, he added. Two-thirds of the red alerts were for heavy rain.

zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn

?