China’s summer of climate destruction

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on BBC or enjoy below

🗞️ Driving the news: Unprecedented flooding in north-east China's Heilongjiang Province has led to significant loss of life and devastation, including a severe impact on food supplies
• This month, 40% of the area's famous Wuchang rice crop was destroyed

🔭 The context: Floods in regions where they were previously unheard of are a new and alarming phenomenon
• In the last decade, the number of recorded floods in China has increased tenfold, signaling an escalating climate crisis

🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: Scientists attribute the intensification of extreme weather events, including these floods, to climate change 
• Global warming leads to higher evaporation rates, resulting in increased moisture and consequently, more severe weather events

⏭️ What's next: The article suggests that current infrastructure is inadequate for the emerging challenges
• Dr. Zhao Li from Greenpeace warns that human beings are not ready for what's around the corner in terms of climate change

💬 One quote: "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." (Dr. Zhao Li, Greenpeace East Asia)

📈 One stat: In the summer of 2011, there were 6-8 monthly floods listed in China, while last year, more than 130 were recorded in July and 82 in August

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