Tropical Storm Danas looms over China after battering Taiwan, killing two
Packing winds of around 80 kmh (50 mph) at its centre, Danas is forecast to make a sharp left turn as it moves northwest across the South China Sea before striking the port city of Taizhou, prompting the local maritime authority to suspend passenger shipping and cancel over 100 voyages.
China, the world's second-largest economy, faces growing threats from extreme weather, which meteorologists link to climate change. Risks that each year stand to wipe out tens of billions of dollars worth of commercial activity, as cities flood, shipping activity stalls, and croplands are washed out.
Authorities in Zhejiang issued a flash flood warning early on Tuesday, with forecasters expecting 100 to 250 millimetres of rain to hit the 650 km (400 miles) stretch from Fuzhou, the capital of neighbouring Fujian province, to Hangzhou, Zhejiang's capital.
After sweeping through Zhejiang, Danas is expected to move into Jiangxi province, whose rolling hills and mountains make it particularly vulnerable to catastrophic flooding.
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The Independent
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Texas inspectors approved Camp Mystic's disaster plan 2 days before deadly flood, records show
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The Independent
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What are the UK weather records for July?
The hottest July temperature recorded in the UK is 40.3C, which was reached in Coningsby in Lincolnshire on July 19 2022. This was the first – and so far only – date on which temperatures above 40C have been officially recorded anywhere in the country. Before 2022, the record for the highest July temperature was 38.7C, which was reached at the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge on July 25 2019, according to Met Office data. Last year, temperatures climbed as high as 32.0C at both Heathrow and Kew Gardens in London on July 30. The 30C mark has been reached in July somewhere in the UK in every year since 2011, when temperatures peaked at only 27.4C. The highest temperature so far this month is 34.7C, which was measured at St James's Park in London on July 1. The average warmest July on record was in 2006, when the mean temperature for the UK across the month was 17.8C. Six of the top 10 warmest Julys have occurred since the start of the 21st century. The top 10 includes 2018 (the second warmest), 2021 (sixth), 2022 (seventh) and 2019 (10th). Met Office data for temperature begins in 1884. The UK's sunniest July on record was in 1955, when an average of 256.9 hours of sunshine were measured during the month. The most recent year to appear in the top 10 sunniest Julys is 2018, sitting in seventh place with 234.0 hours. Met Office data for sunshine starts in 1910. The driest July since records began was in 1868, when an average of just 23.2mm of rain was measured across the UK. The top 10 driest Julys includes no years from the 21st century and only four years from the 20th century: 1955 (in third place), 1913 (fourth), 1984 (sixth) and 1983 (eighth). Rainfall records begin in 1836.
