China alerts to risk of major floods in 2027 due to El Niño

A China today warned that the current episode of El Niño, of extreme intensity, could increase the risk of major flooding in several of the country's major watersheds in 2027, aggravating floods caused by the accumulation of ice.

Sun Chunpeng, subdirector of the Information Center of the Ministry of Water Resources, stated that the Yangtze River basins, Taihu Lake and Songhua River present risks of large floods next year, according to state television CCTV.

The expert explained that other watersheds may also register floods of varying intensity, with local episodes of extreme precipitation and more frequent sudden flooding.

The forecasts also point to an increase in the risk of overflowing glacial lakes in the Tibetan plateau and surrounding regions, while some areas in northern and northwest China may experience less precipitation, higher temperatures and droughts.

For this winter, authorities are particularly attentive to the Yellow River, where temperature fluctuations may favor the accumulation of ice blocks and the formation of barriers that hinder water flow.

According to Sun, some sections of the river in the north of the country may record repeated episodes of ice formation and displacement, with a later freezing than usual.

“ Temperature oscillations facilitate the accumulation of ice in narrow sections, forming obstructions and ice dams, which may increase the risk of flooding,” he explained.

The expert recalled that previous El Niño episodes were associated with large flooding in the Yangtze basin, notably in 1998 and 2016.

The current phenomenon, formed in September and considered in October the most intense since there are records, may affect China in the coming months.

The Ministry of Water Resources has indicated that it has begun to prepare preventive measures and will strengthen meteorological and hydrological surveillance to anticipate possible floods and droughts.

The warning comes after a summer marked in China by typhoons, torrential rains and landslides that caused several victims and forced preventive evacuations.