Adapting China to extreme weather
China DialogueOct 31, 2022
At least ten people have died and several others have been left injured in China after tornadoes and severe weather tore through the eastern province of Jiangsu on Tuesday.
According to preliminary statistics, the tornado caused the collapse of at least 137 houses and affected more than 5,500 people.
Climate change is making extreme weather worse in China and the government is doing its best to adapt to and overcome the challenges posed by these extreme weather events. By improving the country's ability to monitor and warn of climate change and extreme weather using big data and artificial intelligence, China will be able to better respond to extreme weather events and their consequences, as well as to minimize the damage to populations and industries that extreme weather may cause.
While Chinese scientists, state media, and officials have said in the past that climate change makes their country more vulnerable to extreme weather, they seem more apprehensive to state the connection this year. Despite the fact that climate change-exacerbated weather events have caused numerous deaths and significant property damage this year, the country has placed the burden of fighting climate change on what they call "more developed countries" and left its own carbon emissions — which amount to nearly a third of the global total — unchecked and uncriticized.
There's a 61% chance that China will reduce their carbon emissions per GDP by 60% by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.