Extreme weather events continued across China over recent weeks. These “natural disasters” cost China nearly 元77 billion yuan ($10.7bn) last month – the biggest amount of losses for the month of July since 2021.
EXTREME WEATHER
A “once-in-a-century flood” was recorded by the Zhimenda hydrological station along the Yangtze River in south China, reported China Daily. Shanghai-based The Paper said about 47 “torrential rain warnings” became “effective” in the most populated Guangdong province, where more than 70,000 people were evacuated and 45 flights were delayed for more than one hour on 21 August.
In the north, “the worst downpour in over half a century” has driven the price of a “basket of 28 vegetables” to surge 30% since July. The index of agricultural product prices rose consistently every day from 25 June to 21 Aug, except for a “slight dip” on 19 July, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Newswire services added that the sharp rise was due to “extreme weather conditions”. A total of 2.4 million hectares of crops have been damaged and the Chinese central bank pledged to provide an additional 元100 billion yuan ($14bn) to aid these disaster-stricken farm regions.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Scientists told China Science Daily that “for every 1C increase in temperature, the environmental adaptability of selected wheat varieties decreases by 8.7%”, which means “climate change may limit the range of improved varieties available to farmers in developing countries”.
According to China Daily, the average temperature of the Yangtze River “under moderate emission scenarios” could rise by 2-4C, with rainfall potentially increasing by 10-30%, by the end of this century. The outlet added that “extreme precipitation events in the upper reaches of the Yangtze have been increasing in frequency and intensity”.
Source: Wanyuan Song (ed), Carbon Brief, August 23, 2024.
See also: China – Weather extremes lower rice yield – https://china-environment-news.net/china-weather…