The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Awakening of Insects (Chinese: 惊蛰) falls on March 5 and ends on March 19 this year.
Awakening of Insects signals a rise in temperature and increased rainfall. As the third solar term in the solar year, its name alludes to the fact that animals sleeping in winter are awakened by spring thunder and that the earth begins to come back to life. It is the key time for spring agricultural activities.
The spring thunder is most noticeable during the Awakening of Insects solar term. An old Chinese saying goes: "If the first spring thunder crashes before the Awakening of Insects solar term, there will be abnormal weather that year." The Awakening of Insects falls after the end of winter and before the beginning of spring. Wind during this period is an important factor in weather forecasting.
The Awakening of Insects is an extremely important time for farmers and is widely seen as the beginning of the busiest time for agricultural work. During this period, most parts of China experience the quickest rise in temperatures, with the average level reaching above 10 degrees Celsius, and there is a marked increase in sunshine, which provides good natural conditions for farming.