Beijing and other cities are preparing for severe flooding today, Friday, as summer storms sweep across large parts of China, while inland areas are experiencing extreme heat that threatens to reduce the size of the country's largest freshwater lake. China has faced extreme weather fluctuations since April, resulting in fatalities, infrastructure damage, and withered crops, raising concerns about the country’s ability to cope with climate change. This week, authorities in Beijing deployed over 2,600 people to preemptively drain dozens of pumping stations and clear thousands of drainage outlets along roads.
In contrast, the lack of rainfall in Jiangxi province has led to the water level of Poyang Lake, the country’s largest freshwater source, dropping to its lowest level for this time of year since records began in 1951. Temperatures in Xinjiang in northwestern China reached a record high of 52.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday, with some areas in the neighboring Gansu province also suffering from intense heat. The heat of 35 degrees Celsius and above continues to threaten other regions of China.
