Climate is a major factor affecting economic and social outcomes. In China, the country's National Climate Center releases an annual climate report that comprehensively covers China's achievements and progress that year in climate monitoring and impact assessment. This series of reports has been published in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters for eight consecutive years since 2019, and the "State of China's climate in 2025" is now available.
The current report provides a summary of the main climate features and high‑impact weather and climate events in China in 2025.
"China experienced pronounced warm‑wet climate conditions in 2025. The national annual‑mean temperature tied 2024 as the highest on record. Annual precipitation was above climatological normal, showing a pattern of wetter‑north and drier‑south across central‑eastern China," says the first author of the study, Lin Zhao.
"The annual number of high‑temperature days reached a new historical maximum. The rainfall amount and duration of the North China rainy season, precipitation of West China autumn rain, as well as national autumn precipitation all set new records. Although extreme weather events occurred frequently, the overall meteorological disaster losses were lower than the 2015–2024 average."
In 2025, China suffered frequent regional rainstorm processes. Exceptionally severe summer rainstorms hit North China, Northeast China, and Inner Mongolia, breaking daily and cumulative rainfall records at numerous stations and triggering regional major floods in the Haihe River Basin. Long‑lasting and intense West‑China autumn rain exerted obvious impacts on autumn harvesting and winter‑wheat sowing. Central‑eastern China experienced the fourth‑strongest large‑scale heatwave since 1961, together with autumn "autumn‑tiger" hot episodes. Both tropical‑cyclone genesis and landfall numbers were above average, and autumn typhoons successively impacted South China, with some systems striking during national holidays and bringing high disaster risks.
Meteorological drought featured prominent regional and sub‑seasonal variations. Cold‑wave outbreaks occurred more frequently than normal. Severe convective weather was active nationwide; national gale‑day totals hit the highest level since 1991. Spring sand‑dust events over northern China were more frequent than the long‑term average.
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters
State of China’s climate in 2025
30-Jul-2026