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.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
IPCC, Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis, Part of the Working Group I Contribution to the Third Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge (U.K.): Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001, 25–46, 72.
Zhang, D. E., A Compendium of Chinese Meteorological Records of the Last 3000 years (in Chinese), Nanjing: Jiangsu Education Press, 2000, 2340–2366.
Gaubil, S. J., Antoine, le P., Correspondance de Pékin, 1722–1759. Publiée par Renée Simon, Préface par Paul Demiéville, de l’Institut, Appendice par le P. Joseph Dehergne, S. J. Genève: Librairie Droz, 1970, XVIII-1005p.
Zhang, D. E., Paleoenvironmental records in historical archives of China (in Chinese), Adv. Geoscience, 13(3): 237–277.
Zhang, D. E., Wang, P. K., A study on Meiyu activity of 18th century in the lower Yangtze region, Science in China, Series B, 1991, 34(10): 1237–1245.
Knowles Middleton, W. E., Invention of the Meteorological instruments, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1947, 227.
Cotte, le P., Extrait des Observations météorologiques faites à Pékin, par le P. Amiot Jésuite, pendant six années, depuis le l.er Janvier 1757, jusqu’au 31 Décembre 1762, Paris: De l’Imprimerie royale, 1774, 609–611.
Cotte, P., Pékin, den Chine, Par, le P., Amyot, Jésuite, Pendant six ans (1757–1762) rédigées par M. Messier, in “Mémoires sur la Météorologie, Pour servir de Suite & de Supplément au Traité de Météorologie, publié en 1774, Par le P., Cotte. Tome Second”, Paris: de l’Imprimerie Royale, 1788, 494–498.
Kirwan, R., Estimation de la température de différens degrés de latitude, Par Richard Kirwan, et al., Ouvrage traduit de l’Anglois, Par M. Adet, fils, …, A Paris: Chez Cuchet, Libraire, 1789, xvj + 183.
Sheng, C. Y., General Introduction to Climate of China (in Chinese), Beijing: Science Press, 1986, 235–236.
Beijing Meteorological Bureau, Climate Chronicle of Beijing (in Chinese), Beijing: Beijing Press, 1987, 5–332.
Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Yearly Charts of Dryness/Wetness in China for the Last 500-year Period (in Chinese), Beijing: Cartographic Publishing House, 1981, 5–332.
Zhang, D. E., Li, X. Q., Liang, Y. Y., Supplemental yearly charts of dryness/wetness in China for the last 500-year period for 1993–2000 (in Chinese), Appl. Meteor, 2003, 14(3): 379–388.
Zhang, D. E., Climate of Little Ice Age in China and global change (in Chinese), Research of Quaternary Period, 1991,(2): 104–112.
Mann, M. E., Bradley, R. S., Hughes, M. K., Northern hemisphere temperatures during the past millennium: Inferences, Uncertainties, and Limitations, Geophysical Research Letters, 1999, 26(6): 759–762.
Schove, D. J., The sunspot cycle 649 B.C. to A.D.2000. Journal of Geophysical Research, 1955, 60(2): 127–146.
Quinn, W. H., Neal, V. T., The historical record of El Nino Events, in Climate since A.D. 1500 (eds. Bradley, R. S., Jones, P. D.), New York: Routledge, 1992, 623–648.
NOAA/NCEP, Climate Diagnostics Bulletin, 2002, (12): 3–48.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
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
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03183723