The city of Beijing experiences thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong winds on August 12, 2025. Photo: VCG

Beijing is currently under warnings for strong winds, lightning, heavy rain, waterlogging, flash floods and geological disasters, with the rainfall expected to significantly disrupt traffic during the Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning rush hours. 

According to the meteorological forecast, from Tuesday afternoon to nighttime, there will be a significant rainfall event in Beijing, with expected cumulative rainfall reaching moderate to heavy levels, and localized torrential rain, the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. The early stages of the rainfall will be highly convective, with occurrences of lightning, short-term heavy rainfall, and strong winds of 7-8 levels (over 10 levels in mountainous areas). Some areas may also experience small hail.

Several video clips posted at around 4 pm on Chinese social media showed darkened skies and the trees swayed in the wind with heavy rain pouring down. Some netizens remarked on how abruptly the heavy rain and darkness arrived, while others noted that the intense rain stopped after less than 20 minutes.

From 8 am to 3 pm on Tuesday, the city's average rainfall was 3.1 millimeters, with the maximum rain recorded at Huayuan village in Miyun district, measuring 53.9 millimeters, Beijing Daily reported.

Beijing meteorological department advised residents to take precautions against the lightning, rain, short-term strong winds, and hail by staying away from tall buildings and temporary structures and avoiding wading through waterlogged roads.

Beijing Meteorological Service issued a blue alert for heavy rain, saying that there will be a thunderstorm process moving from west to east across Beijing from 8 am on Tuesday to 8 am on Wednesday, affecting urban areas around Tuesday noon. In some areas, hourly rainfall may exceed 30 millimeters, and six-hour rainfall may exceed 50 millimeters. 

Authorities warned that mountainous areas may experience secondary disasters such as flash floods, mudslides, and landslides while water accumulation may occur in low-lying areas.

Global Times