Severe Weather in China
China's vast size gives it nearly every kind of severe weather: Pacific typhoons on the coast, tornadoes on the eastern plains, catastrophic river floods, spring sandstorms in the north, and bitter cold waves. Here is the overview.
At a glance
| Region | East Asia — from the tropics to the subarctic |
|---|---|
| Severe season | Typhoons Jul–Sep; storms & floods May–Aug |
| National service | China Meteorological Administration (CMA) |
| Tornado word | 龙卷风 (lóngjuǎnfēng) |
China's severe-weather profile
Spanning the tropics to the subarctic and the Pacific coast to the high Tibetan Plateau, China experiences an extraordinary range of severe weather. The humid, densely populated east is hit by typhoons, tornadoes, and floods; the north sees sandstorms and cold waves; and summer monsoon rains drive some of the deadliest flooding on Earth.
The main hazards
- Typhoons — the south-east coast is struck by several each year. See China typhoons.
- Tornadoes — concentrated on the eastern plains; occasionally violent, like the deadly 2016 Yancheng tornado. See tornadoes in China.
- Flooding — the Yangtze, Yellow, and Pearl river basins produce catastrophic summer floods.
- Sandstorms — spring dust storms sweep out of the Gobi across northern China and Beijing.
- Cold waves and heat — Siberian cold outbreaks in winter and intense summer heat waves.
Where to get official warnings
China's national authority is the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), which runs a colour-coded warning system (blue, yellow, orange, red) for typhoons, rainstorms, high wind, cold, heat, and more. Regional meteorological bureaus issue local alerts, and the CMA tracks tropical cyclones for the wider western Pacific.
Sources & further reading
- China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
- China's National Meteorological Center and provincial bureaus
- Regional Specialized Meteorological Center Tokyo (typhoon tracking)
Figures such as casualties and ratings reflect widely published accounts from national weather services and the European Severe Storms Laboratory, and may be revised as records are re-analysed.