Unprecedented downpours prompt warning that links and systems adapted to an arid past may struggle to cope with a wetter future
Unprecedented downpours prompt warning that links and systems adapted to an arid past may struggle to cope with a wetter future
From the night of 19 June, Hotan in Xinjiang experienced its heaviest 24-hour downpour in recorded history.

The resulting flooding in the city, which borders the Taklamakan desert, caused the temporary closure of the expressway, China Weather Network reports.

In three lunchtime hours on 20 June, the area had surpassed its average yearly precipitation, according to Xinjiang Meteorological Service.

The extreme rainstorm was caused by two banks of moist air converging over southern Xinjiang, explained China Weather Network analyst Xin Xin. The rainfall accumulated in the mountainous areas and, together with snowmelt runoff, caused flash floods, he added.

Though Xin Xin did not mention climate change as an exacerbating factor, other commentators have.

There has been snowmelt-induced flooding in the same Tarim basin area before, for instance in 2021 and the summer of 2022. But the rainfall was much more intense this time than in 2021, Tang Peng, director of the Hotan Meteorological Observatory, told Qilu Evening News.