China’s summer has been host to several weather abnormalities, with very rapid shifts between extremely dry droughts and monsoon rains. These issues have led to a decrease in the country’s food production, especially devastating for the largest food producing nation in the world. Although flooding in the Chongqing region is not uncommon, severity of the floods has reached historic heights, with a rising death toll of 15 and tens of thousands of acres of rice and corn damaged.
About a thousand miles north from Chongqing is China’s capital, Beijing, where the flooding has caused 33 deaths on August 9, 2023, with 18 reported as missing. It is controversially reported that China’s Hebei province, which borders Beijing, has faced more disastrous damage to infrastructure due to government officials redirecting river streams to Hebei in order to protect China’s capital.
The biggest current threat to humanity’s health––climate change––is likely a main cause of the monsoon rains’ increasing intensity. As underprivileged communities will be most affected by these changes, the issue should be prioritized and addressed through efforts in public health.
By Grace Wang