Grappling with one of its coldest Decembers on record, China may need to brace for another round of scorching heat and an increase in extreme weather in 2024. Zhou Bing, China’s National Climate Center chief expert, warns that 2024 could be hotter and that extreme weather events may become more frequent and powerful. This year, China experienced some of its hottest temperatures logged since 1850, along with a harsh cold snap that froze many parts of the country for close to a fortnight. The past summer saw Beijing bake in record heat, while a remote township in the country’s arid northwest logged a day of 52 degrees Celsius – the hottest on record for China. Typhoons also brought record-breaking rainfall, causing widespread flooding in China’s north.

El Nino refers to the climate phenomenon that occurs every two to seven years, where waters near the equator in the Pacific become warmer than normal, leading to heavy rainfall, storms, or droughts in some parts of the world. This year’s El Nino began in June and has set new temperature highs around the world. Weather experts predict that El Nino could fade between April and June next year, but its effects take months to materialize, hence there could be more temperature records broken in 2024.