In China, a rare convergence of record rainfall, heatwaves, and a tornado hit the southern megacity of Guangzhou this week, displacing millions of people, damaging properties, and flooding farmland. Southern China is expected to experience torrential rains until Tuesday, according to Chinese state television, with no immediate relief for the vast and populous region that has been inundated by downpours over the past week.
Authorities issued “extreme weather events” warnings as early as April, ahead of the rainy season, which marks the seasonal transition from spring to summer in June.
Floods have historically been a problem in China. It has recently become even more vulnerable as a result of deforestation, wetlands reclamation, and water storage for power generation and irrigation.
Climate change is also being blamed for an increase in extreme weather events, as rainfall and temperatures reach new highs.
“Climate change has already had serious negative impacts on China’s natural ecological system, and it has continued to spread and penetrate into the economy and society,” the government stated in its national climate change adaptation strategy, which was released on Monday.
According to local media, a tornado ripped through sections of Guangzhou late Thursday during a heavy rainstorm, knocking out power to over 5,400 people in the sprawling southern city.
The central government dispatched flood prevention workers after local media in Guangzhou reported risky water levels with rough seas in the Pearl River Basin.
On Tuesday, a 2.45-metre (six-foot) high wave was recorded at a city observation site, the highest in 20 years.
On Thursday, the weather bureau in neighbouring Fujian province warned that recent record-breaking amount of rain would continue into next week, posing a high risk of natural disasters.
Other provinces’ disaster warnings this week prompted emergency relief efforts as city streets were submerged in water, highway connectivity was cut off, and acres of farmland was swamped.
Meanwhile, temperatures in central and northern China are projected to reach unusual highs of 40 degrees Celsius early next week (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The unusually warm weather has already engulfed Zhengzhou, the Henan capital that was hit by record rainfall and paralysed by catastrophic flooding last summer.
