China’s summer of climate destruction

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China's summer this year has seen both extreme heat and devastating floods.

And the flooding this time around has struck areas where such weather has been unheard of, with scientists - blaming climate change - warning that the worst is yet to come.

"I've never seen a flood here in my whole life," says 38-year-old Zhang Junhua, standing next to a vast patch of rice, now completely useless. "We just didn't expect it."

His family and friends are safe, he says, because they were given plenty of warning to get to higher ground, but everyone in his village now has some tough months ahead.

What's more, the devastation in north-east China's Heilongjiang Province has had a major impact on food supplies for the whole country.

This month, 40% of the area's famous Wuchang rice crop has been wiped out, visibly flattened by the volume and speed of the water. Places which should appear lush and green are today brown and dead.

 

"The fields where we planted our crops were all submerged. We can't plant again this year," says another farmer, Zhao Lijuan, as she smiles and tries to be philosophical about the impact on her community.

"The losses are incalculable. We have tens of thousands of acres of rice fields here," the 56-year-old says, adding: "When I saw the water come here, I cried. It laid waste to everything and I am scared the typhoons will be back."

 

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