Water masses tear down bridge in China - eleven dead
Strength and Frequency of Extreme Weather Events Increase. China Feels This Clearly in This Summer. After 48 People Die in a Highway Collapse in May, Heavy Rain Again Demands Casualties on a Expressway.
According to state media reports, at least eleven people have died in the collapse of an expressway bridge in northwestern China. The expressway bridge reportedly collapsed on a Friday evening due to torrential rain and flooding, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The bridge is located in Shangluo, Shaanxi Province, approximately 900 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
During ongoing rescue efforts, rescue teams had already recovered five vehicles by morning that had fallen into a river due to the bridge collapse. China experiences regular torrential rains particularly during the summer months. However, this year the country is experiencing an extreme summer with weather: While the east and south have already experienced heavy rain and flooding a few weeks ago, the north of the country has been hit by several heatwaves. Already in May, 48 people died after an expressway collapsed in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The region was affected by heavy rain at the time of the incident.
According to researchers, the strength and frequency of extreme weather events are increasing due to human-induced climate change. China is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which drive global warming.
In response to the increasing strength and frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change, several international organizations have proposed strategies to mitigate China's greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these efforts, China continues to grapple with the impacts of extreme weather, as demonstrated by the recent bridge collapse in Shangluo, Shaanxi Province, resulting in at least twelve fatalities, coinciding with a period of extreme weather this summer.
