China is the leading emitter of the greenhouse gases scientists say are driving global climate change and making extreme weather events more frequent.
Beijing has pledged to bring planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions to a peak by 2030 and to net zero by 2060.
"During this year's autumn season (Sept 1 to Nov 30), the national average temperature was 11.8 degrees Celsius, 1.5 degrees higher than the average year, the highest ever since 1961," the centre announced on its social media account.
China has already this year logged its hottest July since records began -- which was also the hottest month in the history of observation.
August too was the warmest ever recorded, capping a summer of extreme weather conditions from searing heat waves to torrential rainfall.
Global warming can make such weather more frequent not just through high temperatures but also the knock-on effect of extra heat in the atmosphere and seas.
Warmer air can hold more water vapour, and warmer oceans mean greater evaporation, resulting in more intense downpours and storms.
- 'Much Warmer' -
In China this autumn, most regions experienced temperatures 1 to 2 degrees Celsius above average, while parts of central, east, southwest and northwest China experienced average temperatures that were 2 to 4 degrees Celsius higher during the period compared to previous years, the National Climate Centre said Wednesday.
"This year is indeed much warmer than last year, and the winter is also much warmer," one user from the eastern province of Shandong wrote on social media platform Weibo.
"This time last year I remember it was almost snowing. The temperature had dropped to minus four or five degrees. It's only 8 degrees now," the person added.
Sixteen provinces and regions, including Liaoning, Tianjin, and Chongqing, recorded their highest average autumn temperatures since 1961.
And daily maximum temperatures at 375 national weather stations exceeded or equalled local historical autumn extremes.
The average number of high-temperature days nationwide in September also hit a record high for the same period in history, while Sichuan, Chongqing, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River suffered from heat and drought in early autumn, the climate centre said.
Residents of the southern city of Guangzhou experienced a record-breaking long summer this year, with state media reporting there were 240 days where the average temperature was above 22C (71.6 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking the record of 234 days set in 1994.
Worldwide, this year is "virtually certain" to be the hottest in recorded history with warming above 1.5C, EU climate monitor Copernicus said in November.
Copernicus said 2024 would likely be more than 1.55 degrees Celsius (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1850-1900 average -- the period before the industrial-scale burning of fossil fuels.
This does not amount to a breach of the Paris deal, which strives to limit global warming to below 2C and preferably 1.5C, because that is measured over decades and not individual years.
After floods, Spain records warmest November ever
Madrid (AFP) Dec 3, 2024 -
Spain has registered its warmest November since record-keeping began more than six decades ago, even after October ended with its worst floods in a generation, official data showed Tuesday.
November's average temperature was 12.4 degrees Celsius (54.3 Fahrenheit), which was 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record for the month in 1983, and 2.8C higher than the November average between 1991 and 2020, national weather agency AEMET said on social media.
It was the highest average temperature for a month of November since the agency began to keep records in 1961.
"It was also a very dry November overall," the agency said, adding that precipitation was 40 percent below normal levels "despite the abundant rains" during the first days of the month in the Mediterranean.
Torrential rains on October 29 caused flash floods that killed at least 230 people and swept away cars and wrecked homes and businesses, mainly in the eastern region of Valencia on the Mediterranean coast.
The storm was followed by several episodes of heavy rain in the region during the first week of November that hampered the clean-up operation.
Spain endured its second-hottest year on record in 2023 with an average temperature of 15.2C, just below the record 15.5C registered in 2022.
As global temperatures rise because of climate change, scientists have warned that heatwaves and other extreme weather events like droughts and wildfires will become more frequent and more intense.
Japan witnesses warmest autumn on record
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 3, 2024 -
Japan has recorded its warmest autumn since records began 126 years ago, the weather agency said, delaying the country's popular displays of seasonal foliage into December.
"This year was 1.97 degrees Celsius higher than usual... making it the hottest autumn since 1898, when statistics began," the Japan Meteorological Agency said Monday on their website.
Between September and November, the temperature was 2.4 degrees Celsius higher than usual in Tokyo, 2.9 more in the central city of Nagoya and 1.2 warmer in northern Sapporo city.
The weather has delayed the country's autumn foliage season -- when tourists flock to see leaves turn vibrant reds and yellows.
In Kyoto, a railway company known for running trains through forests of illuminated maple trees at night has extended its schedule because leaf colours are not changing as quickly as usual.
According to the Japan Meteorological Corporation, the best time to see the autumn leaves in Tokyo is around December 5 and in Osaka on December 9, both later than usual.
Japan recorded its joint-hottest summer on record this year as extreme heatwaves, which scientists say are fuelled by climate change, engulfed many parts of the world.
The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period this year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.
Climate scientists forecast that 2024 will almost certainly be the hottest year on record.
Australia has meanwhile sweltered through its warmest spring on record, the country's weather bureau said Sunday, with temperatures 2.08 degrees Celsius above the average.
Australia's previous hottest spring -- running between September and November in the Southern Hemisphere -- was recorded in 2020.
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