Link: https://thediplomaticinsight.com/nationwide-heat-alerts-record-heatwave-china/

China’s national meteorological and health authorities have issued coordinated nationwide heat health alerts because of the unusually warm and humid summer which has resulted in extreme temperatures in the country with some parts expected to reach above 40°C in the coming days.

The alerts are due to an abnormally warm and humid flood season that is causing excessive temperatures in many parts of the country.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) has raised the highest alert level for some areas of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Chongqing Municipality, and Hubei Province.

The CMA’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) has triggered its own warning system for major storms, which provincial weather bureaus in the north and south of the country have followed with their own graded warning systems.

The national average temperature is now 17.5°C, 0.9°C above normal for the time of year and the third warmest for the same time period since 1961, said Chen Lijuan with the National Climate Center. Stations in the Turpan Basin of the northwest Xinjiang region have already reported 46.2C and the NMC predicted that parts of the northwest would see temperatures of 41C to 44C, near or beating record highs.

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Meanwhile, China evacuates residents as heavy rains hit northwest, southwest, as reported by Reuters.

• The national forecaster retained its second-highest level precipitation alert for various parts of the ​country on Monday, especially around northwestern Shaanxi, southwestern Chongqing, ​Guizhou and Guangxi, and in southern Guangdong.
• The Shaanxi ⁠meteorological observatory raised its storm alert and warned of waterlogging ​and flash floods. Authorities have relocated 87,987 people since July ​30.
• Torrential rainfall in the northern parts of the low-lying Sichuan Basin and other areas has triggered eight geological disasters in cities including Yibin, ​Ziyang, Meishan and Guangyuan.
• Sichuan authorities evacuated another 40,249 people across 20 cities on ‌Monday ⁠as a preventative measure, the total number of people relocated for safety in the southwestern province rose to 922,058 since the flooding season began in mid-July, according to CCTV.
• In Yunnan, continuous heavy downpours are ​forecast from ⁠Monday to Thursday, with high risks of flash floods, geological disasters and river flooding.

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The national average temperature is now 17.5°C, 0.9°C above normal for the time of year and the third warmest for the same time period since 1961, said Chen Lijuan with the National Climate Center.

How? Like, with widespread temps in the upper thirties and forties, you’d need equally widespread temps in the single digits and below zero for that to make sense.

I could see if it were a year round average, but then the time of year wouldn’t matter

China includes a lot of high altitude areas. Not sure how they are calculating the average though because it still sounds like it shouldn't be bringing the average down that much.