Get your umbrellas ready! ☔ The Chinese mainland officially entered its annual flood season this past Monday, and things are already heating up—or rather, wetting up—especially in the southern regions, which are now hitting the peak period for flood control efforts.
This year, the weather is playing a bit of a wild card. While the national average precipitation since the start of the year is only about 2% higher than usual, the rain isn't being shared equally. 📉 Some spots are getting drenched way more than others, with parts of northeast China, north China, and the areas along the Yangtze River seeing rainfall levels more than double their historical averages. Talk about an uneven distribution!
The action is primarily concentrated in the Yangtze and Pearl River basins. So far, rivers across 18 provincial-level regions have already crossed their warning thresholds. In total, 146 rivers have reported above-warning floods—that's about 40% more than what we usually see this time of year. 🌊
Here is the tricky part: most of these affected waterways are small to medium-sized rivers. These "little guys" can react super fast to heavy rain, which means they can pose a bigger, more sudden risk to the communities living nearby. 🏘️
The water flow is also on the rise. Nationwide river runoff is nearly 10% higher than average, and the Yangtze River is seeing a surge of 10% to 50% above normal levels. It's definitely a high-pressure situation for local flood-prevention systems.
But it's not all bad news! 🌟 There is a silver lining: water reserves are looking strong. As of June 1, the country's 9,677 key reservoirs were holding about 476.4 billion cubic meters of water, which is roughly 10% above the seasonal average.
Officials say these ample reserves provide a solid foundation for managing both flood control and water supply as the Chinese mainland gears up for the most challenging period of extreme rainfall and flooding. Stay safe and stay dry! 🌍✨
Reference(s):
China enters flood season as rainfall patterns show new trends
cgtn.com
