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Spectre of floods looms over nation

By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-23 07:59

China's climate is expected to be dry and hot this year, and maybe hotter than usual.

"In Beijing, it often snows in February but it is rare for the first snow of this winter to come as late as this month," remarked taxi driver He Dong following the first flurries of the year.

"It usually snows three or four times during the winter in northern China," he pointed out.

And in another sign of unusual weather conditions, in Wuyuan, Jiangxi province, which is famous for its flowering landscape, the first blooms appeared at the beginning of this month, ten days earlier than usual.

Meanwhile, the chronic and prolonged drought in northern China shows no sign of abating despite the snow Beijing and other parts of the region received last week.

Before last week's snow, sleet and rain, meteorological reports in many cities in North China warned of higher than normal or even record temperatures. It was hoped that the snow and rain would help take the edge off the drought, but its impact was far too limited.

As early as the beginning of this winter, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) warned that some regions could experience droughts until the spring.

And, worse still, meteorological data shows that brutal floods often come in the summer after a prolonged winter or spring drought.

Many people remember that 1998 saw record high average temperatures in China, which were followed by the worst summer floods in a century.

El Nino - which means 'little boy" in Spanish - wreaks havoc on weather patterns across the Asia-Pacific region. And this "boy" is looming large over the planet this year. People should be on the alert this year to battle against such disasters, which are most likely to flood vast areas and cause huge losses.

The ongoing anti-drought battle offers us food for thought. The country needs to be well prepared before the floods come, while people should also be moved away from the most dangerous regions.

Many farmers in the south of the country traditionally believed that the best place to live was near a mountain or a river. But now, frequent bad weather has increasingly exposed their homes to the dangers of landslides and flooding.

And in Sichuan, earthquake survivors in mountainous area may suffer from downpours, floods and massive landslides if no effective measures are taken in advance. The reason is quite simple: the mountains have already been rocked.

The UN has dubbed 2009 "climate change year", and the international community is working hard to achieve a deal to tackle global warming. Hopefully this can help to prevent the extreme weathers caused by global warming, particularly for the sake of the most vulnerable people.

(China Daily 02/23/2009 page3)