Environmental issues in China

About China's environmental well-being and China's efforts to protect the environment, there are many ongoing challenges. Flooding happens frequently in the south, but there is lack of supply of water in the north.

History of heat wave

2021 East Asia sandstorm; 2022 China heat wave; 2023 China heat wave

Pollution

March 2019

As coal is the primary fuel, the air quality is bad. As early as 2015, oberservers point out that the land is very polluted due to 20 years of industrialisation.

There are many causes of pollution. They include traffic congestion, "private car" ownership and the popular use of plastic.

Storms that affected China

A tree fell.
A tree fell.

Long history of floods

Rainfall map in April 2024.

Written from the earliest to the most recent. 1931 China floods; 1935 Yangtze flood; 1938 Yellow River flood; 1951年辽河大水; 1954 Yangtze floods; 1958 Yellow River flood; 1963年海河特大洪灾; Eastern China flood of 1991; 1998 China floods

since 2000

2007 Shandong coal mine flood; 2008 South China floods; 2009 Luoding flood; 2010 China floods; 2011 China floods; 2012 China floods; July 2012 Beijing flood; 2013 Southwest China floods; 2016 China floods; 2017 China floods; 2020 China floods; 2021 China floods; 2021 Henan floods; 2023 China floods; 2023 Hong Kong rainstorm and floods; 2024 Guangdong floods; Floods in the Huairou and Miyun districts of Beijing, mudslides in nearby village(s), in late July 2025;

complications

References

  1. ↑ Water Demands of Coal-Fired Power Drying Up Northern China Archived 14 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine 25 March 2013 Scientific American
  2. ↑ On China's Electricity Grid, East Needs West—for Coal Archived 15 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine 21 March 2013 BusinessWeek
  3. ↑ Chinese Utilities Face $20 Billion Costs Due to Water, BNEF Says 24 March 2013 BusinessWeek
  4. ↑ Six dead, dozens missing as Beijing, northern China and Mongolia hit by worst sandstorm in a decade
  5. ↑ Wang, Vivian (July 26, 2022). "Hotter, Longer and More Widespread Heat Waves Scorch China". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  6. ↑ May, Tiffany (June 23, 2022). "Extreme Weather Hits China With Massive Floods and Scorching Heat". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  7. ↑ Feng, Emily (August 20, 2022). "China battles its worst heat wave on record". National Public Radio. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  8. ↑ Newburger, Emma (August 19, 2022). "China issues first national drought emergency amid scorching temperatures". CNBC. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  9. ↑ Yu, Verna (2022-09-07). "China reports 'most severe' heatwave and third driest summer on record". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  10. ↑ "Combined intensity of heat wave events has reached the strongest since 1961 according to BCC". China Meteorological Administration. 21 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  11. ↑ Le Page, Michael (Aug 23, 2022). "Heatwave in China is the most severe ever recorded in the world". New Scientist.
  12. ↑ Wong, Edward (2016-08-17). "Coal Burning Causes the Most Air Pollution Deaths in China, Study Finds". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  13. ↑ Bloomberg News (14 January 2013). "Beijing Orders Official Cars Off Roads to Curb Pollution". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 19 September 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  14. ↑ Economy, Elizabeth (17 July 2015). "The Environmental Problem China Can No Longer Overlook". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "The River Runs Black". Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  16. ↑ Xinhua News, "Car ownership tops 154 million in China in 2014 Archived 24 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine," 27 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Wernick, Adam (19 March 2019). "China announces a new ban on single-use plastics". The World. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  18. ↑ "山东全力应对"温比亚"台风灾害" (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  19. ↑ 邬迪、轩召强 (August 18, 2018). "上海台风期间22万防汛抢险人不畏风雨守护申城" (in Chinese). 人民日报客. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  20. ↑ "洪水". 中华人民共和国水利部 (in Chinese). 2007-07-21. Archived from the original on 2018-12-23.
  21. ↑ "历史上的水旱灾害". 辽宁省葫芦岛市水利局 (in Chinese). 2007-07-21. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27.
  22. ↑ "1963年京城最后一次大洪水：城内外上万房屋倒塌". 凤凰网 (in Chinese). 《北京日报》. 2007-08-19. Archived from the original on 2021-07-24.
  23. ↑ "第99期：海河危情--1963年天津大水纪实". 搜狐 (in Chinese). 《假日100天》. 2003-07-15. Archived from the original on 2003-12-25.
  24. ↑ "河北党史百年百事（53）｜1963年河北抗洪". 河北新闻网 (in Chinese). 河北省委党史研究室、省档案馆、河北日报社. 2021-05-31. Archived from the original on 2021-07-24.
  25. ↑ 中国气象局 (2016-06-07). "盘点历史上重大的洪涝灾害". 搜狐 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2021-07-28.
  26. ↑ "1963 水漫京城". 中国新闻网 (in Chinese). 《北京日报》、《中华文摘》. 2007-11-21. Archived from the original on 2012-08-26.
  27. ↑ "China sees record flooding in Beijing, with 20 deaths and mass destruction blamed on Typhoon Doksuri - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  28. ↑ 北京9座水库同日泄洪 一村附近五处泥石流. July 28, 2025
  29. ↑ 洪災釀44死！北京養老院31人亡　官方：對極端天氣認識不足. TVBS. August 1, 2025
  30. ↑ Five dead, several missing as torrential rain triggers flood and landslide fears in southern China
  31. ↑ 4 dead, 17 missing as heavy rains soak southern China, triggering landslides