Extreme rainfall threatens north as China enters peak flood season
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Two women braving the heavy rain in Beijing, China, on July 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- China has entered its peak flood season with northern regions expected to get 20 to 50 per cent more rainfall than usual from late July to early August.
- Climate change is shifting rain patterns north and west, increasing risks of floods and landslides worsened by urbanisation and infrastructure.
- Recent heavy rains caused a deadly landslide in Pengshui County, with ongoing rescue efforts for missing people amid warnings of more extreme weather.
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HONG KONG – China has entered its peak flood control period, weather experts said, with extreme rainfall expected to increase in frequency and intensity from late July to early August, and much of northern China set to experience 20 per cent to 50 per cent more rainfall than usual.
Rising temperatures are shifting the rain belt westwards and northwards across the country, expanding the area of humid and semi-humid climate zones and increasing the risk of secondary disasters, which are exacerbated by factors such as urbanisation and infrastructure construction.
“Climate change is no longer a future problem for China – it’s already happening,” said Xuebin Zhang, a professor at the University of Victoria in Canada and director of the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium.
Adaptation needs to become a larger part of the response, Zhang said.
Swathes of China have experienced downpours in recent weeks. After torrential rain, part of a mountainside collapsed on July 17 in Pengshui County – an area famed for its scenic nature roughly 270km away from downtown Chongqing city in the south-west.
At least eight people died in the landslide and rescue teams continue to search for as many as 34 people.
The National Climate Centre said that during the critical flood season from mid-July to mid-August, known as Qixia Bashang, most parts of northern China, eastern Inner Mongolia and north-eastern China will experience above-average rainfall.
“Many areas in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will see 20 per cent to 50 per cent more rainfall than usual,” the climate centre said.
Vigilance is needed to guard against floods caused by heavy rain, it said.
Portions of Liaoning province in the north-east have already received more than twice their normal rainfall in 2026.
Some areas could experience extreme downpours capable of triggering flash floods, urban waterlogging and landslides, the climate centre said. REUTERS
