How hot was it in ancient times?

This year, China suffered a hot summer. Earlier, the media reported that the daily maximum temperature in 43 cities and counties in China exceeded 40℃, and many places entered the "barbecue" mode, and a new round of high temperature would hit China again. Compared with modern times, will ancient summer be so extreme "hot"?

Plants and trees withered in the "poisonous sun"

In meteorology, the daily maximum temperature reaches or exceeds 35℃ as the standard of high temperature. If it is above 35℃ for several days in a row, it is called "heat wave" and belongs to meteorological disaster, which was called "heat damage" by the ancients.

According to climatologist Zhu Kezhen, there were four "warm periods" and four "cold periods" in the climate history of China before 1900. Except for the first warm period before 1 100 BC, the other three times always appear alternately. Relatively speaking, heat damage mostly occurs in the "warm period" of climate, obviously more than in the cold period. For example, during the third warm period from Sui and Tang Dynasties to the early Northern Song Dynasty, there were more extreme hot weather in summer.

In the 14th year of Tang Zhenyuan (AD 798), there was a drought in spring and summer, and millet and wheat withered. According to Old Tang Book, this year was "extremely hot in midsummer". Generally speaking, it's too hot this summer.

19 1 1 June (July, 908, 17), two years after the Five Dynasties, Liang Shu Taizu Keith, the old history of the Five Dynasties, recorded that this day was "Yang Kang", which meant that the sun was too strong, which was what the people called "poison day".

In the second year of the Song Dynasty (AD 996), "In June, it was very hot and some people died of thirst".

The heat wave weather with high temperature was the largest before 1400 years ago, which occurred in Jiading eight years in the Southern Song Dynasty (12 15 years). At that time, the emperor was Zhao Kuang, and now Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan and other provinces have suffered from the summer heat disaster. This year coincides with a severe drought. There is such a record in "Song Shi Wu Xing Er": "In May, there was a big squall, the vegetation withered and the spring was exhausted."

The original meaning of "sultry" is warmth, and the name "sultry" in history books means "too hot". Because the demand for water is too strong, "one hundred dollars per trip, dozens of dollars for a glass of water in Jianghuai". At present, this glass of water can be worth 10 yuan. At that time, the income of ordinary people was low, how could they afford to drink water as expensive as oil? As a result, "more people are dying of thirst."

"Summer Tiger" More than 10,000 people died in Beijing.

However, eight years in Jiading was not the hottest summer in China's history. The hottest summer in history appeared in the eighth year of Qianlong, that is, AD 1743. It can be seen from the Meteorological Records of Qing Dynasty (Part I) in Volume III of China Meteorological Records for 3,000 years that the high temperature in this year almost involved half of China, and the whole North China region such as Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shanxi was extremely hot, which can be said to be super hot summer-

Jing: "On June 25th, Chen Bing (July 25th) was the capital of Shu Wei." ("Continued Donghua Record")

Tianjin: "May is bitter and hot, earth and stone are scorched, gold flows from the top of the mast, and many people are hot." (Tongzhi "Continued Tianjin County Records")

Gaoyi, Hebei Province: "From May 28th (July 19) to June 6th (July 26th), it was difficult to get hot, the wall was too cloudy, and it burned like fire. Lead and tin are sold out in Japan and China, and many people are dying of thirst. " (Gaoyi County Records of the Republic of China)

Fushan, Shanxi: "It is hot in May in summer, and many pedestrians on the road are killed by the heat, especially in Beijing, and some vendors floating in Beijing are also killed by the heat." (Qianlong's "Fushan County Records")

It can be seen that the whole North China region completely entered the "barbecue mode" at that time. "Continued Donghua Record" used "Shu Wei" to record the high temperature at that time. It's as hot as a tiger threatening to eat people. It's fierce.

This summer, the situation in Beijing was the worst. At that time, French priest A.Gaubil (Chinese name "Song Junrong") was in Beijing, and he wrote in the witness report sent to Paris in the future: "Since July 13, the heat was unbearable, and many poor and fat people died, which caused widespread panic. These people often die suddenly and are found on the road, on the street or indoors. "

How many people died of heatstroke in Beijing at that time? Song Junrong quoted the statistics of court officials at that time as saying, "From July to 25th of 14, there were 1 1400 people in the suburbs and cities of Beijing who died of heatstroke." The actual number of people who died of heat is not limited to these. In other areas, the number of people who died can be imagined.

What is the temperature in the hottest summer in history? According to the research conversion of Zhang Del, director of Paleoclimate Research Office of National Climate Center of China Meteorological Bureau and chief expert of climate change research, the temperature values of1July 20-25, 743 were all higher than 40℃. Among them, the temperature on July 25th was the highest, reaching an astonishing 44.4℃.