CHONGQING (CQNEWS) --“It’s sunny!” At 2:00 p.m. on April 21, the sunshine, which had not been seen for many days, fell through the clouds on Paradise Walk in Yuzhong District,“printing” light and shadow on the ground. Many passers-by took pictures of the spring street scene with their mobile phones.“It’s so rare because the last time I saw the sun was half a month ago!” Tian Yue sent a photo she took of a street scene under the sun to her girlfriends, which drew some admiration. Some say that sunshine is indeed scarce in Chongqing this April, two-thirds of the way through.

Lack of sunshine in main districts of Chongqing in April

3.4 hours of total sunshine over the 19 days

Cloudy weather took up most of the time in Chongqing this April,“We haven’t seen much sun this month, and the clouds are so thick that we can’t see the sun during the day and the moon at night.”

Ms. Qin, who lives in Yuzhong District, is an astronomy enthusiast, but because of cloudy weather, she has missed the rare“Conjunction of the Moon and Mars” celestial spectacle this April and“can only enjoy photos posted by others in WeChat Moments.”

In good weather, Ms. Qin often takes her one-year-old daughter out in the sun. However, on April 20, she realized that the last time she and her daughter went out in the sun together was more than 10 days ago.

How scarce is sunshine in Chongqing this April? Data from the Chongqing Climate Center shows that from April 1 to 24:00 on April 19, the average number of hours of sunshine in districts and counties of Chongqing was only 11.4 hours in real terms, compared to an average of 60.4 hours of sunshine in the same period in previous years. Sunshine was even scarcer in main districts of Chongqing, with only 3.4 hours of sunshine in main districts for 19 days from April 1 to 24:00 on April 19, less than one-tenth of the number of hours in previous years (the average sunshine hours for the same period in previous years was 53.9 hours).

Why is sunshine so scarce in Chongqing this April? Tang Hongyu, chief engineer of Chongqing Climate Center, introduced that the reason why rainy weather persisted in April was because Chongqing was frequently affected by cold air, while the western Pacific subtropical high pressure warm and humid airflow was northward, and the two air currents influenced each other, resulting in numerous rainy weather.

Seize opportunities for sunbathing

Cloudy and rainy onwards from Friday till the end of April

A rare appearance of sunshine on April 20 was treasured. However, this time the sunshine came and went quickly. According to Chongqing Meteorological Bureau forecast, the city received more rainfall in late April than during the same period of the year.

April 22 was a sunny and clear day. However, from the night of April 23, a new round of thunderstorms will land in Chongqing, with heavy rain in some areas to the north, and local areas will experience intense fall. From April 23-25, moderate rain turns to drizzle across Chongqing, with heavy rain in some areas. From April 27-28, cloudy and rainy weather prevails across Chongqing. Throughout the second half of April, the weather in Chongqing will be mainly cloudy and rainy. (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)