China sees hottest year on record in 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The average temperature in China in 2023 was the highest since 1961, when the country began compiling complete meteorological records, according to the National Climate Center.

The national average reading in 2023 stood at 10.7 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees Celsius above the regular years, breaking the previous record made in 2021, namely 10.5 degrees Celsius.

A total of 13 provincial-level regions logged record-high temperatures, including Shandong, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tianjin, Hunan, Hebei, Sichuan, Henan, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, and Guangxi.

The average precipitation across the country shrank 3.9 percent from the regular years and stood at 615 mm.