Climate change is making China’s annual summer floods worse, and cities housing millions of people aren’t prepared to handle the damage.
Record-breaking rainfall in the central province of Henan killed more than 300 people last month, while downpours continue to swamp cities in several other regions. Two people died last week in Beijing after they were trapped in a car that was submerged under a bridge.
The tragedies are making it clear to policymakers and citizens that Chinese cities, even the capital, are far from ready for the extreme weather events wrought by global warming. It’s not just the threat of floods — Greenpeace research has shown that China’s key metropolises are at risk of longer and hotter summers in the coming decades.