Impact of Rain and Snow in Southern China on Agriculture
The impact of rain and snow in the southern part of China on agriculture is provided by Jindi Agriculture.
Today, most areas in the south still experience rain and snow, with some parts of the country welcoming a white Christmas.
The Central Meteorological Observatory forecasts that over the next three days, northern Xinjiang, northeastern Inner Mongolia, and most of Northeast China will continue to experience snowy weather. Among these regions, northern Xinjiang and northeastern Heilongjiang will have moderate to heavy snowfall, with localized blizzards. Northern Xinjiang's snowfall will range from 3 to 10 millimeters, with new snow accumulation depths approximately between 3 to 10 centimeters, and the snow depth in the northwestern part of Xinjiang could reach 40 to 73 centimeters. The snowfall in northeastern Heilongjiang will be between 5 to 11 millimeters, with new snow accumulation depths ranging approximately from 5 to 11 centimeters.
According to the China Weather Network, affected by a strong cold air mass, most areas in southern China experienced widespread rain and snow yesterday (December 24), with temperatures dropping by about 10℃. It is expected that today, Southwest China, Jiangnan, and South China will continue to experience rain and snow, with local temperatures continuing to drop, bringing a white Christmas to some areas.
Rain and snow appeared in the southern region, causing a temperature drop of around 10℃.
Affected by a strong cold air mass, most areas in southern China experienced varying degrees of rain and snow yesterday. Starting at 05:00, the rainfall in Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, and other places gradually turned into snowfall. According to observations from 05:00 on December 24 to 05:00 on December 25, there was light to moderate snow (rain) or sleet in the Jianghan Plain, central and northern Jiangnan, and eastern Southwest China, with local precipitation exceeding 10 millimeters. Additionally, southern Jiangnan and most of South China experienced light to moderate rain or showers, with the maximum precipitation reaching 25 millimeters, recorded in Hengshan County, Hunan Province.
Besides the rain and snow, the temperature drop in most areas in the south was also very noticeable. Observations from 14:00 on December 24 showed that temperatures in the Huai River, Yangtze River, and Jianghan regions dropped by about 10℃ compared to the same time on December 23, with the temperature drop in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River ranging between 10 to 15℃. It is expected that early morning temperatures on December 25 will be below freezing, necessitating caution against road icing hazards.
In North China, the Yellow River-Huai River-Jianghuai regions, precipitation has been consistently low since October, leading to droughts in some areas, which has had a certain impact on the growth of winter wheat and rapeseed. In particular, southern Shandong, the Shandong Peninsula, northern Anhui, and northern Jiangsu have suffered severe drought due to continuous insufficient rainfall. This has resulted in weak winter wheat seedlings with finer leaves, fewer secondary roots, and reduced tillering. Some wheat fields have even shown signs of missing plants or broken ridges, with serious cases leading to dryness and plant death. Additionally, due to insufficient rainfall, the growth of transplanted rape seedlings in the Jianghuai, Jianghan, and Yangtze River regions has been suboptimal, with uneven emergence in direct-seeded rapeseed.
Starting from December 23, an eastward-moving cold air mass brought light to moderate rain (snow) to eastern Northwest China, eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Shandong Peninsula, Jianghuai, Han River, Jiangnan, South China, and eastern Southwest China. From the night of December 23 to the early morning of December 24, the Han River, Jianghuai, and Jiangnan regions transitioned from rain to sleet or snow. Heavy snow was forecasted in some areas of southeastern Northwest China, Han River, and northern and western Jiangnan. Temperatures across most of central and eastern China are expected to drop by 6～10℃. On the night of December 25, the lowest temperature in the Jianghuai region will only be -3℃～-4℃, with most of Jiangnan experiencing minimum temperatures generally between 0℃～-3℃, while northern South China will see lows of 2～4℃, and southern South China will see lows of 5～9℃.
According to the China Weather Network, since mid-December, large-scale wind chill and snowfall occurred in our country, causing frost damage to winter wheat, rapeseed, and open-field vegetables in some areas. At the same time, the wind chill weather significantly impacted animal husbandry and facility agriculture. Weak snowfall occurred in southern North China and most of the Yellow River-Huai River regions, which helped increase soil moisture but did not effectively alleviate the drought in most areas. Excessive precipitation in some southern regions caused excessive soil moisture in farmland, affecting normal crop growth.
Starting from December 21, another cold air front again hit the central and eastern parts of the country. This process will bring more wind chill and rain and snow, impacting agricultural production. It is recommended that all regions strengthen crop field management and take precautions against the cold for livestock, greenhouses, economic fruit trees, etc., to minimize disaster losses. To assess whether this cold air will severely affect agricultural production in central and eastern China, we conducted a special interview with Mao Liuxi, Director of the Agricultural Meteorology Center of the China Meteorological Administration.
Mao Liuxi, Director of the Agricultural Meteorology Center of the China Meteorological Administration, introduced that since the planting of winter wheat and rapeseed this year, most of the main producing areas have enjoyed good light and heat conditions, with sufficient base moisture, which is beneficial for crop planting, sprouting, and seedling growth. After entering winter, northern winter wheat underwent adequate cold hardening, entered the normal wintering period, and most of the winter wheat grew well.
From December 11 to 16, most autumn-sown areas experienced strong cooling weather. Winter wheat in most of the northwest and northern North China had already entered the wintering period, and the cooling had no significant impact on wheat. In most of North China and eastern Huang-Huai, the minimum temperature dropped to -15～-5℃, prompting winter wheat to stop growing and enter the normal wintering period. In western Huang-Huai and Jianghuai, the minimum temperature dropped to -7～-2℃, while in Jianghan, Jiangnan, and eastern Southwest China, it dropped to -4～0℃. The growth of some weaker winter wheat and rapeseed was affected, but due to the short duration of cooling and the strong cold resistance of winter wheat and rapeseed, it did not cause obvious adverse effects on crop growth in most areas.
Winter-over crops in our country mainly include winter wheat and rapeseed. Currently, winter wheat in most parts of the northwest, North China, and eastern Huang-Huai has stopped growing and entered the wintering period; winter wheat in southeastern Northwest China, western Huang-Huai, Jianghuai, Jianghan, and most parts of Southwest China is in the tillering stage, with some areas in Southwest China already having jointed. Rapeseed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and Southwest China is mostly in the fifth true leaf stage to transplanting stage, with some areas in Southwest China entering the rosette to bud stage.
Another round of cooling and precipitation will further impact the growth of winter wheat and rapeseed. It is recommended to strengthen crop field management to mitigate the impact of adverse weather.