According to Dr Zhao Li from Greenpeace East Asia, the increase in flood numbers

can be partially explained by China developing better systems to monitor and record
flood data.

But she says global warming is still clearly a major contributing factor.

"Warmer temperatures can enhance evaporation rates, resulting in more moisture in

the atmosphere," she says. "This increased moisture content can lead to more
intense rainfall and more frequent and severe storms, including hurricanes and
cyclones."

A Greenpeace study from two years ago, using UN climate panel mapping, found that
more heatwaves and extreme rainfall would effectively extend summer by one month
during this century in the provinces around Beijing and Shanghai. In the Pearl
River delta, it would be by more than 40 days.

The Chinese government's own Meteorological Administration officials have reported

that extreme high temperatures and extreme precipitation have definitely increased
since the mid-1990s.

However, in the face of potential catastrophes, Dr Zhao Li from Greenpeace warns

that human beings are not ready for what is just around the corner.

"We are not prepared for extreme weather events. Recent experiences from the floods
underline that," Dr Zhao says.

"It's an immense and perhaps unrealistic task to upgrade all infrastructure to be

able to face a flood that is the worst in hundreds of years. However, climate
change is bringing those once-a-century events into rotation with a frequency that
shows we will soon have to control a disaster again."

Officials in China tried to ease the impact of recent floods by using a system of
dams of waterways to change their direction.