In recent years, extreme weather events have become more common around the world.
In July 2021, catastrophic rains in Henan Province in central China left 398 people dead or missing; in 2022, previously humid south China suffered a severe drought and frequent wildfires.
The Northern Hemisphere sweltered in scorching temperatures this year, with July being the hottest month since records began and possibly the hottest in the last 120,000 years.
UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that “the era of global warming is over; the era of global boiling has arrived” at a July 27 press conference on climate.
Then, from July 29 to August 1, heavy rains triggered by typhoon Doksuri hit north China. Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, as well as their surrounding Hebei Province, were hit hard.
Local authorities announced on August 9 that 33 people had been killed in the Beijing floods, including five who had died conducting rescue and relief operations, as of August 8. Another 18 people were still missing. It was the heaviest rainfall in the Chinese capital in the recent 140 years. In Hebei, as of August 10, 29 people had been killed in disasters triggered by the latest round
