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Northern China maximum temperature in the summer of 1743: A historical event of burning summer in a relatively warm climate background

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

In the context of historical climate records of China and early meteorological measurements of Beijing discovered recently in Europe, a study is undertaken on the 1743 hottest summer of north China over the last 700 a, covering Beijing, Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong, with the highest temperature reaching 44.4°C in July 1743 in Beijing, in excess of the maximum climate record in the 20th century. Results show that the related weather/climate features of the 1743 heat wave, e.g., flood/ drought distribution and Meiyu activity and the external forcings, such as solar activity and equatorial Pacific SST condition are the same as those of the 1942 and 1999 heat events. It is noted that the 1743 burning summer event occurs in a relatively warm climate background prior to the Industrial Revolution, with a lower level of CO2 release.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Climate Center of China, 100081, Beijing, China

    De’er Zhang

  2. Royal Meteorological Institute, Brussels, Belgium

    Demaree Gaston

Authors
  1. De’er Zhang
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  2. Demaree Gaston
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Correspondence to De’er Zhang.

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Zhang, D., Gaston, D. Northern China maximum temperature in the summer of 1743: A historical event of burning summer in a relatively warm climate background. Chin.Sci.Bull. 49, 2508–2514 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03183723

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03183723

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