Thousands impacted as torrential rains trigger mudslides: 'The impacts are expected to increase'
China's Yunnan province was struck at the start of June by devastating flooding that impacted nearly 5,000 residents and trapped more than 600 tourists.
Torrential rains soaked southwestern China during the country's Dragon Boat Festival, a long holiday weekend celebrated this year from May 31 through June 2. The intense rain fell in Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. Local authorities had issued a red alert, the highest level of four in China's four-colored warning system, before the deluge arrived.
The flooding rains triggered mudslides and destroyed buildings and bridges in the region. Fortunately, no casualties were reported despite 4,800 residents in Gongshan County being impacted by the severe weather.
Some popular hiking sites in the mountainous region had their road access cut off during the flooding. An evacuated four-story building on the Dulong River, which reached record levels during the flooding, collapsed, according to state broadcaster CCTV, per Reuters.
Our warming world is altering the water cycle. "Climate change is likely causing parts of the water cycle to speed up as warming global temperatures increase the rate of evaporation worldwide. More evaporation is causing more precipitation, on average," according to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. "We are already seeing impacts of higher evaporation and precipitation rates, and the impacts are expected to increase over this century as climate warms."
Our overheating planet is supercharging storms. Climate Central discovered that many U.S. cities (88% of the 144 analyzed) have experienced an increase in hourly rainfall intensity since 1970. In another study, Climate Central scientists found that our overheating planet increased wind speeds for every Atlantic hurricane last year.
Another flooding event made headlines in late May, just a few days prior to the Yunnan event. A storm produced a deadly deluge in New South Wales, Australia, killing at least five people and leaving an estimated 50,000 people stranded.
"Climate change is increasing the risk of landslides," according to French geophysicist Gilles Grandjean, per the Paris Polytechnic Institute. Even though the direct role our planet's rising temperatures have on landslides is difficult to pinpoint, "as climate change affects precipitation (by increasing the frequency of extreme events), it also has an impact on the risk of landslides," added Grandjean.
Scientists say our warming atmosphere is acting like steroids for our world's weather. Cooling our planet by moving away from dirty energy and adopting renewable options is the best way to counter this effect.
New research from scientists in Germany and the United Kingdom has shown how small, hydrogen-powered boats could significantly lower carbon pollution from Europe's transportation sector. Chinese researchers may be close to a major breakthrough that would mark a significant advancement in solid-state batteries, which many say is the "holy grail" for green tech.
We can become advocates for the future of our planet by learning about critical climate issues and raising awareness about them through discussions with friends and family. Supporting pro-climate politicians is another way we can help protect our planet.
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