Three years after Zhengzhou was hit with China’s deadliest flash floods in decades, the central Chinese city was underwater once again.
A month earlier, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment also released its first progress report on adaptation to the threat of climate change, which highlighted the need for better early-warning systems and improved coordination among departments in charge of construction, water management, transportation and public health.
Forecasts for the rest of July underscore a sense of urgency: Torrential rain is expected in 18 regions across the country. The government has sent in hundreds of soldiers, relocated tens of thousands of villagers, and allocated $200 million to aid disaster relief. China’s climate-change adaptation problem is worsened by vast differences in wealth and geography. The country’s 1.4 billion people mostly live in dense, concrete sprawl prone to flash flooding during downpours. Factories and financial centers are concentrated along the low-lying east coast.
on the topic released last Thursday. The report laid out mounting evidence of the threat, such as record-breaking temperatures last year that melted glaciers and permafrost at speeds never seen before.Speaking at a news conference to launch the report, Yuan Jiashuang, deputy director of the administration, told journalists that heat waves will scorch China for to 15 more days of the year and reach temperatures 3 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit higher within 30 years.
That position became harder to sustain as the country’s reliance on polluting coal-fired power and its massive construction boom made it the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases.