China hit by rare union of record rainfall,

heatwaves and a tornado

File - In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people work in a flooded area in
Qiubei County in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, Friday, May 27, 2022. Photo: Xinhua
via AP/File

A rare convergence in China of record rainfall, heatwaves and a tornado hitting the southern
megacity of Guangzhou this week displaced millions of people, damaged properties and
swamped farmland.

Southern China is expected to see torrential rains until Tuesday, Chinese state television
reported on Friday, with no immediate reprieve to the vast and populous region inundated by
downpours in the past week.

Authorities issued warnings of "extreme weather events" as early as April, ahead of the rainy
season that signals seasonal transition from spring to summer in June.

China is historically prone to floods. In recent times, it has grown even more vulnerable due to
deforestation, the reclamation of wetlands and the storage of water for power generation and
irrigation.

China also blames climate change for the increase in extreme weather events as rainfall and
temperatures reach new highs.

"Climate change has already brought serious adverse impacts to China's natural ecological
system, and has continued to spread and penetrate into economy and society," the government
said in its national climate change adaptation strategy published on Monday.

Late Thursday, a tornado ripped through parts of Guangzhou during a heavy rainstorm, local
media reported, cutting off power supply to over 5,400 users in the sprawling southern city.

Local media in Guangzhou reported dangerous water levels with high waves in the broader
Pearl River Basin, prompting the central government to dispatch flood prevention workers.

An observation site in the city recorded a 2.45-metre (six feet) high wave on Tuesday, the
highest in 20 years.

The weather bureau in nearby Fujian province on Thursday warned that recent record-breaking
rainfall would persist into next week, posing high risk of natural disasters.
Disaster warnings sent out by other provinces this week have prompted emergency relief efforts
as city streets lay submerged in water, highway access was cut off, and acres of farmland was
swamped.

Meanwhile, temperatures in central and northern China are expected to hit unusual highs into
next week, surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The abnormally warm weather has already enveloped the Henan capital of Zhengzhou, which
was hit by record rainfall and paralysed by devastating floods last summer.