Multiple regions in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are grappling with extreme weather, as scorching heatwaves push surface temperatures to extreme levels in Turpan, while sustained high temperatures trigger snowmelt floods in the Kunlun Mountains, damaging local infrastructure.
In Turpan, the famous Flaming Mountains have been baked by days of intense heat, with surface temperatures reaching 84 degrees Celsius.
“The 84 degrees Celsius we measured recently is the highest surface temperature recorded since the beginning of summer this year. The highest surface temperature ever recorded at the scenic area is 89 degrees Celsius,” said Lan Yunxia, marketing manager of the Flaming Mountains Scenic Area.
Meteorological authorities attribute the extreme heat to Turpan’s closed basin topography, bare rock surfaces, and long sunshine hours, which together trap heat like a covered pot.
Meanwhile, sustained high temperatures have caused snowmelt in the Kunlun Mountains, triggering localized snowmelt floods in Qiemo County, Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin.
In Aoyiyayilake Town at the foot of the mountains, floodwaters have washed away or damaged sections of roads across the Gobi Desert, disrupting traffic. Local authorities have mobilized heavy machinery to clear mud and standing water, repair and reinforce roadbeds, and dredge blocked drainage ditches to ensure safety.
Due to its low-lying terrain, the area is highly susceptible to floods caused by melting ice and snow from the Kunlun Mountains. Ahead of the annual flood season, local authorities conduct door-to-door visits to educate farmers and herders on flood safety and how to avoid mountain flash floods.
“They taught us a lot about safety, like carrying ropes and food in the car to prevent being stranded in the wilderness. They also told us to promptly help anyone we encounter in trouble outdoors,” said a local herder in the town.
Extreme heat, snowmelt floods hit Xinjiang
The Beijing Space Computing Innovation Center, unveiled on June 29 in the capital city’s satellite town in the northwestern district of Haidian, is expected to gather talent across sectors and drive growth in the space computing industry, according to industry insiders.
Jointly led by the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and leading enterprises in the space computing sector, the center will work on tackling common technological challenges such as large-scale space models, while advancing the construction of public platforms, the formulation of industry standards, and the commercialization of application scenarios.
The Beijing Space Computing Innovation Alliance was also launched at the same time, expected to bring together 108 diverse innovation entities ranging from universities and research institutes to state-owned enterprises and private companies to pool resources and strengthen industry collaboration.
“Space computing power in effect is a field with a very long industrial chain, covering commercial aerospace — which has developed rapidly in recent years — as well as chips, artificial intelligence, cloud-related technologies, and specific application scenarios — integrating all of these together for organized research and development,” said Fu Yunhao, CEO of Beijing Tiansuan Xinglian Technology Company.
“As satellite networks become increasingly advanced, they will inevitably host a variety of value-added services and applications. And these value-added services and applications will certainly require computing,” said Wang Shangguang, dean of the School of Computer Science at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
Space computing power technologies refer to deploying computing facilities within an orbital satellite system so that massive volumes of data can be processed, stored and transmitted in orbit. Compared with traditional space information processing method, where data collected by satellites need to be sent back to the Earth for processing, space computing power technologies can break through latency bottlenecks and be applied to numerous scenarios such as remote sensing and monitoring.
Beijing’s new space computing innovation center to attract talent, drive growth: insiders
