Beijing weather – Beijing’s weather service announced that the recent rainfall in the city was the most intense in 140 years of recorded history. This comes amidst allegations that China’s actions have hindered crucial climate discussions with other nations.
Heavy rainfall hit Beijing as the remnants of Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, moved northward across China. The storm had previously struck southern Fujian province before affecting the Philippines.
Beijing and its neighboring areas experienced heavy rains since Saturday, resulting in the total average rainfall for the entire month of July pouring down in just 40 hours.
“The maximum [amount] of rainfall recorded during this storm, which was 744.8 millimetres, occurred at the Wangjiayuan reservoir in Changping,” the Beijing Meteorological Service said, adding it was the “heaviest rainfall in 140 years”.
The extreme weather comes as China’s foreign ministry denied reports that it obstructed discussions on tackling climate change at G20 meetings in India last week, calling the accusations “completely inconsistent with the facts”.
During three days of discussions on critical issues such as reducing emissions and fossil fuel usage, the major countries’ coalition failed to issue a joint statement or offer any fresh commitments.
In their official statement following the talks, the group admitted that the measures to combat climate change were deemed inadequate. According to members of a European delegation, both China and oil-rich Saudi Arabia chose not to make any pledges during the meetings.
China’s foreign ministry said in a statement it “regrets” the failure to reach an agreement at the meetings, which was caused by “geopolitical issues” brought up by other countries “for no reason”.
China, responsible for over 50% of worldwide coal production, has reacted strongly to demands for greater efforts in reducing greenhouse gases, asserting that its historical and per capita CO2 emissions remain lower than those of the United States.
The heavy rain – which has killed 20 people in Beijing – is the latest bout of extreme weather from around the world to raise fears about the pace of global warming.
In the nearby province of Hebei, over 800,000 residents were evacuated, and local media reported nine fatalities with six people still unaccounted for. China is now on high alert as typhoon Khanun, the sixth storm of the year, approaches the east coast of the country.
According to scientists, the climate crisis is amplifying the extreme weather conditions in China, which includes the occurrence of record-high temperatures during this summer.
In response to this situation, China has made a commitment to achieve a peak in its emissions before the end of this decade and aims to become carbon-neutral by the year 2060.
But despite building record levels of new clean energy capacity, its fossil fuel consumption has continued to rise, with no plans to start cutting coal use until 2026.
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