North China literally melts in record heat
Photo: REUTERS
Climate change has become almost the main topic of all the world’s media. In recent weeks, the stubbornness of time has been felt with special force, and throughout the planet.
CHINESE PEOPLE
One of the hardest hit regions was the Celestial Empire, namely North China, which is literally melting due to record heat, exacerbated by drought. According to the Chiang Rai Times, according to the National Climate Center, in Beijing, for more than nine days in a row, the air temperature exceeded 35 degrees, which is a record since 1961.
Last Thursday, forecasters issued a warning of a severe drought in northern China that threatens crops and threatens to spin an already overburdened power infrastructure as heat-stricken people turn on their air conditioners to burn gigawatts of electricity.
At the same time, the heat waves in the north come against the backdrop of severe flooding in southern China, which in recent weeks has forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Over the past week, cities including Hangzhou on China’s east coast, Wuhan in the center of the country and Shijiazhuang near Beijing have decided to use cold-war-era bomb shelters to combat the elements. Now, during the “hot war” against heat, bunkers provide an opportunity for citizens to hide from the heat.
However, this practice is not new, and many hostels already have places to stay, offering water, drinks, medicine, and in some cases even luxuries like Wi-Fi, TVs, and table tennis equipment.
One of the hardest hit regions was the Celestial Empire.
Photo: REUTERS
In recent years, heat waves in China have become more frequent and intense. The main reason for this is believed to be climate change combined with local weather patterns and urban growth.
SLIDING SAMURAI
But in China’s eastern neighbor Japan, the element has taken the form of destructive downpours. As a result, according to The Guardian, six people died and three more went missing after the “heaviest rain in history” triggered floods and landslides in the south-west of the country.
The local weather agency warned residents of Kyushu, one of Japan’s four main islands, to stay alert in case of new landslides, which usually occur in mountainous areas after heavy rains.
According to meteorologist Satoshi Sugimoto, “This is the heaviest rain ever observed in this region, the situation is such that people’s lives are at risk and their safety must be guaranteed.”
In recent years, Japan has been hit by unusually strong storms and powerful typhoons that have killed dozens of people. For example, in 2021, a landslide at the Atami hot springs killed 27 people, and in 2018, in the west of the Land of the Rising Sun, during the rainy season, more than 200 people died. as a result. of the rampant elements.
Japan has been hit with unusually heavy rain in recent years.
Photo: REUTERS
INDIAN DANCE UNDER THE RAIN
India also had a hard time, because in the country, due to the heavy rains of the last 20 years, many people have also died. The rains triggered flash floods and mudslides that killed at least 22 people, mostly in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, CNN reports.
The Indian Meteorological Service said 153mm of rain fell in New Delhi on Sunday, making it the wettest day in July since 1982. Authorities warned of the highest threat levels in the northern Himachal states. Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana. Landslide warnings have also been issued for Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
There is no need to wait for the elements to weaken as India is now in the midst of the rainy season which can last from April to September. Last month, nearly half a million people in the north-east of the country were affected by severe flooding following heavy storms, while in the west, Cyclone Biparjoy (translated as “ay” in Bengali) turned roads into rivers and inundated villages. whole.
India had a hard time too
Photo: REUTERS
Paradoxically, the country was also hit by a heat wave that same summer, indicating that the inhabitants of the world’s most populous country are among the most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis.
AFRICAN SNOW
And now we are going to move thousands of kilometers to another continent and another hemisphere: to South Africa. On Monday, residents of the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, were stunned by the first snowfall in ten years.
In Johannesburg, snow was last seen in August 2012, and before that in 2007. On social media, city residents called the snowfall “pure magic” and “a great start to the week.” Some children have never seen this weather phenomenon at all.
University of the Witwatersrand physical geography professor Jennifer Fitchett told South African newspaper The Times the snowfall was caused by high humidity, low temperatures and cold winds and was unlikely to last.
“This happens once every 10 years or so. We are not a region where there is a lot of snow, and this is partly because we have dry winters. We get very little rain during the winter months, so there’s not a lot of moisture in the air,” Fitchett said.
