Residents in Tongzhou district, Beijing rush to work and school in the rain as continuous rainfall worsened the traffic congestion during the morning rush hour after the National Day holidays on October 9, 2025. Photo: IC

Beijing recorded on Thursday the coldest day in early October over the past 74 years with the highest temperature recorded dropping to 10.6 C, as the Chinese capital city has been drenched with a continuing heavy rainfall since Wednesday, Beijing Daily reported. 

The sharp drop in temperatures recorded at the Beijing Nanjiao Meteorological Observatory resulted from the continuous rain, according to the report. 

Statistics from the meteorological authorities show that the rainfall started on Wednesday and has been continuing uninterruptedly for 36 hours as of 4 pm on Thursday. The citywide average precipitation reached 61.1 millimeters and the average precipitation in urban area reached 68.8 millimeters – both exceeding the threshold for a heavy rainstorm. The highest precipitation of 140.4 millimeters was recorded at Jingxian Jiayuan in Daxing district. 

According to Lei Lei, chief weather forecaster from the Beijing Meteorological Service, this round of rainfall will last until Saturday morning when the weather will clear up during the day, with the highest temperature expected to rise to 20 C. However, cloud will increase again at Saturday night, and light rain is expected to return in Beijing from the afternoon to evening on Sunday, with the highest temperatures dropping by 3-4 C. 

Due to the rainy weather, the highest temperature on Friday is forecast to be only around 13 C. 

Since the establishment of the Nanjiao observatory in 1951, there have been seven instances of continuous rainy weather lasting more than three days in early October, including one case which occurred from October 8 to 10 in 2017, and another from October 3 to 6 in 2021, Lei said. However, the citywide average precipitation during those periods was not as much as this round. As of 4 pm on Thursday, the average rainfall in the city had reached the level of a heavy rainstorm. 

It is forecast that a cold front is expected to affect Beijing around next Thursday, bringing not only rainy weather but also winds that will cause temperatures to fluctuate again. 

Global Times