60 years of heavy rain in southern China

Weather experts say conditions are ripe for more torrential rainstorms in the south of the country and heat waves in the north.

“Cold and warm air converged over southern China, and the two sides got into an impasse and tug of war,” Wang Weiwei, an analyst with weather.com.cn, the arm of the China Meteorological Administration, told Reuters.

Heavy rains are expected to continue into Tuesday in the southern provinces of Guizhou, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang and Guangxi and then move north.

Severe weather warning

The annual flood season in China traditionally begins in June and is usually most severe in the densely populated agricultural areas along the Yangtze River and its tributaries.

But it has become more serious and dangerous in recent years and experts have warned that things could get worse.

In April, the National Climate Center warned that heavy rains are expected over the southern and southwestern parts of the country, as well as the typically dry desert terrain of southern Tibet.

China recorded an average annual rainfall of 672.1 mm last year, 6.7% more than normal, according to a report from the National Climate Center in May. The report concluded that China’s weather variability is getting worse, especially in terms of the intensity of rainstorms during the summer months.

The record rainfall comes amid efforts by China to tackle climate change.

At least 1.1 million residents of southeast China’s Jiangxi Province were affected by floods and torrential rains between May 28 and June 11, according to the official Xinhua news agency, while 223,000 hectares of farmland were destroyed in the timber and bamboo-producing province.

high alert

State authorities have been on high alert ever since, amid growing questions about the preparedness of Chinese cities for severe weather.