Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap, kills at least 30
Much of the rain inundated Beijing's mountainous north near the Great Wall, with 28 deaths reported in the district of Miyun and two in Yanqing, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. It did not say when or how the deaths occurred.
Heavy rain started last Wednesday and intensified around Beijing and surrounding provinces on Monday, with the capital experiencing rainfall of up to 543.4 mm (21.4 inches) in its northern districts, Xinhua said. The average annual rainfall in Beijing is around 600 mm.
"The cumulative amount of precipitation has been extremely high - reaching 80–90% of the annual total in just a few days in some areas," said Xuebin Zhang of the University of Victoria in Canada and CEO of the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC).
"Very few systems are designed to handle such an intense volume of rainfall over such a short period," Zhang said.
The local topography - mountains to the west and north - "trapped" the moist air and forced it to rise, enhancing the extraordinary amount of precipitation, he said.
China's usually arid north has seen record precipitation in recent years, with some scientists linking the rainfall to global warming.
In the summer of 2023, heavy rain and flooding killed at least 33 people in Beijing. Rainfall in the city of Xingtai in neighbouring Hebei province exceeded 1,000 mm in two days - double the yearly average.
Late on Monday, President Xi Jinping said there had been "heavy casualties and property losses" in Beijing and the provinces of Hebei, Jilin and Shandong, and ordered "all-out" search and rescue efforts.
More than 80,000 Beijing residents had been relocated, Xinhua reported, with roads and communication infrastructure damaged and power to 136 villages cut off overnight.
The most intense rain occurred on Saturday in Beijing's hilly Huairou, which saw 95.3 mm of rain in one hour.
In Miyun on Monday, some people were trapped at an elderly care centre as water levels rose close to the roof. Emergency rescue services swam into the building and used ropes to pull out 48 people.
On Tuesday, parks, libraries and museums including the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City were closed. Train and bus services in the suburbs and along waterways were suspended. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed at Beijing's two airports, state media reported.
Heavy rain also pounded the province of Hebei and the city of Tianjin neighbouring Beijing, which are all part of the vast Hai river basin.
Four people were killed in a landslide in Hebei on Monday, with eight still missing, as six months' worth of rain fell over the weekend.
In two villages in Tianjin on Monday, major roads were flooded, bridges damaged, with only the roofs of single-storey houses visible, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
Heavy rain is expected to persist in parts of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin on Tuesday, the emergency management ministry said Monday night, adding that "the disaster relief situation is complex and severe."
Some residents in the region posted on social media platform Weibo calling on authorities to expedite rescue efforts.
"The flood is still coming, and there is still no power or signal, and I still can't get in touch with my family!" a post on Tuesday morning said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Weather tracker: deadly floods devastate northern China
At least 70 people have died in northern China after another bout of torrential rain triggered flooding, the latest in a series of extreme rainfall events in recent months. Between 23 and 29 July, Beijing and its surrounding areas recorded an average of 166mm, equivalent to the monthly norm. The suburban district of Miyun received the highest amount of rainfall, with 543mm recorded, equivalent to the region's annual average. The death toll included 31 people in a Miyun care home, 10 who were swept away in a minibus in Shangxi province, and eight people in a landslide in the city of Chengde. Floods also damaged roads and vital infrastructure, cutting off more than 130 rural villages and leading to the evacuation of more than 80,000 people from their homes. The increasing frequency of high-rainfall events in China has been linked to rising global temperatures; each degree in warming enables the atmosphere to hold 7% more moisture. Meanwhile, Japan is braced for Tropical Storm Krosa on Friday, which is expected to skirt past the south-eastern Kanto region via the Izu islands. Although Krosa travelled towards Japan during its initial north-westerly path, a forecasted change to a more north-easterly direction means the system is likely to avoid a direct hit. However, its close proximity to the Chiba region is may bring 120-200mm of rain in 24 hours. This week, as much of Europe experiences below-average temperatures, parts of Scandinavia have been engulfed by unusually intense heat. Prolonged heatwave conditions swept the north of the continent in mid-July, driven by exceptionally high sea-surface temperatures off Norway's northern coast and a stubborn area of high pressure that brought sunny weather and sinking, compressing air. As a result, temperatures in Norway, Sweden and Finland rose 8-10C (46-40F) above seasonal norms and remained elevated for nearly two weeks. The Norwegian counties of Trøndelag and Nordland exceeded 30C for 13 consecutive days, including in Storforsheia, just north of the Arctic Circle. It was the warmest two-week period on record in several areas. In the past week, the heat has shifted north and east, easing across much of Norway and Sweden and pushing temperatures 10-15C above normal in Finland and north-western Russia. Temperatures in the upper 20s celsius are likely to persist for at least the next five days several hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Chongqing residents seek shelter as heatwave hits China's southwest
CHONGQING, China, August 1 (Reuters) - Temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) have broiled Chongqing, a metropolis in China's southwest known for its fiery hotpot restaurants and cyberpunk cityscape, pushing some locals to cope with the increasingly hot weather in innovative ways. "It's getting hotter and hotter," said Liu Fengying, 60, a local resident. As afternoon temperatures soared on Thursday, Liu avoided the heat by playing card games and sharing snacks with friends among around 100 retirees sheltering in the air-conditioned chill of a subway entrance. "Aside from coming here, there's really no other way to avoid the heat. Last night, even with the AC set to 17 degrees C, it was still hot and wouldn't cool down." Record heat across China has strained its power grid as demand surges to new all-time highs, now in excess of 1.5 billion kilowatts, with records broken four times just in July. After daily peaks exceeding 40 C for a week, Chongqing elevated its heat-wave warning to the highest level - a red alert - on Thursday, with 21 out of its 38 districts forecast to hit up to 43 C. A peak of 44 C is projected for Sunday. Historically, daily peaks in the city of nearly 32 million people have rarely exceeded 39 C in July, which is already very hot by global standards. Since the start of May, the number of days the city recorded temperatures exceeding 35 C this year was double the historic average. But some Chongqingers remain unfazed - for now. Xie, 79, one of dozens of swimmers who gathered at a tributary of the Yangtze as the sun started to set on Thursday, cools down with regular swims in China's longest river. "Chongqing has always been a furnace city, but we have the river to cool down," he said before diving off a two-metre tall river bank in his underwear. On the same night, Qiu Xianhui, 36, came with friends to eat hotpot, Chongqing's famously spicy broth, at a restaurant in one of the city's old bomb shelters, where the air cools naturally. "We're locals, so we're used to 40-plus degree weather. We've seen it all," he said. ($1 = 7.2087 Chinese yuan renminbi)
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- The Guardian
Wet, wintry weekend in store for NSW as some areas warned of heavy rainfall and damaging winds
New South Wales is heading for a sodden Saturday, with the wet and wintry weather that has been plaguing the east coast expected to ramp up over the weekend. After a week of intermittent showers, the bulk of the rain was forecast to hit on the weekend as a low-pressure system deepened off the coast, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. 'The rain, which we've seen over the past few days for eastern Australia, will be greatly amplified,' said senior meteorologist Angus Hines. 'That's going to mean a very, very wet weekend.' Sign up: AU Breaking News email Heading into Saturday, the weather system was expected to hone in on NSW, with severe weather warnings issued for damaging winds and heavy rainfall for central eastern parts of the state. Much of the NSW coastline could receive falls of between 50 to 100mm over the weekend, Hines said, with the heaviest falls expected for the coast and ranges between the Hunter and mid north coast. Some places could even see 'a serious amount' – more than 150mm. The NSW State Emergency Service urged residents in coastal areas to prepare for the risk of flash flooding and renewed river rises, along with potential storm damage with damaging wind gusts of about 90km/h likely. Assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan said there were simple things people could do to reduce the risk, such as clearing gutters and downpipes, trimming trees and tying down loose items. Flood watches had already been issued for rivers between Newcastle and Coffs Harbour, some of which could spill, causing minor or moderate flooding. 'We would also like to remind everyone to never, under any circumstance, drive through flood water,' she said. 'If you come across a flooded road, stop, turn around and find an alternative route.' While less than half of the amount of rainfall that fell in May was expected over the weekend, the ground was already 'pretty waterlogged' and it would not take much to get the rivers going, Hines said. At higher elevations, snow was 'definitely possible' on Saturday morning, he said. Flurries in the central and northern tablelands of NSW were likely, and there was even an 'outside chance' of snow in the Granite Belt of Queensland. On Saturday and Sunday, large seas with swells reaching up to 5.5 metres could be generated across much of the Tasman Sea, according to Weatherzone. Across the capitals, Sydney would be dreary, grey and wet, while the weather was predicted to be breezy in Brisbane and chilly in Canberra. Pleasant, settled and sunny weather was forecast for Melbourne, Hobart and Adelaide, and typical mid-dry season high temperatures in Darwin. Meanwhile, a weather system arriving in the west would deliver rain, wind and cold conditions to Perth. Weekend forecast: Sydney: Rain. Saturday max 18C. Sunday max 19C. Melbourne: Mostly cloudy on Saturday, max 15C. Sunday, mostly sunny, max 18C. Brisbane: Shower or two. Saturday max 19C. Sunday max 21C. Adelaide: Partly cloudy on Saturday, max 14C. Sunday, max 17C. Perth: Rain. Saturday, max 18C. Sunday, mostly sunny, max 29C. Canberra: Shower or two on Saturday, top 13C. Sunday, cloudy, max 15C. Hobart: Mostly sunny. Saturday 14C. Sunday max 15C. Darwin: Sunny. Saturday and Sunday max 31C.
