Slow-moving bands of heavy rain trigger flooding and landslides in parts of China

Heavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides and waterlogging. The band of rainfall spanned 1,000km (620 miles) and steadily moved eastwards across the regions on Tuesday. It was a slow-moving band of rain, formed from the convergence of multiple bands originating from the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

Coupled with low wind speeds, high daily and hourly rainfall totals have been recorded, with as much as 75mm locally in Hunan, 85mm in Anhui in a 24-hour period and 95mm on the island of Hainan. As a result of flooding, 12 people have died and hundreds of residents have been evacuated by emergency services. There were major travel disruptions, electricity outages, as well as school and business closures. Along the flooded streets, social media posts showed submerged cars and people fishing.

Heat warnings have been issued for New Delhi in India, and the surrounding areas of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other regions in the north of India. Temperatures above 40C (104F) are being recorded widely across northern and central India this week. As temperatures are already high, parts of northern India are experiencing temperatures more than 5C above the seasonal daytime average during the night. A maximum temperature of 48.2C was already recorded in Banda on Wednesday, with 47.6C on Thursday at the same site. Temperatures in New Delhi were 44.4C on Wednesday, and 45.3C on Thursday.

In rural areas, farmers are working during the night to avoid the daytime heat. People have been advised to stay hydrated and keep out of the sun during the day. Such heatwave temperatures can be linked to a lower amount of rainfall through this season. These severe heatwave conditions, with maximum temperatures above 45C, will continue into next week and are expected to last until Wednesday when conditions will become more unsettled as thunderstorms develop across the north.