Summer rains are leaving China sodden. That’s pushing coal underwater.
After several years of drought, rainfall has been lashing the country this summer, flooding rivers, towns and mines. Dozens have perished in landslides, bridge collapses and inundation, and we’re still barely more than halfway through the typhoon season.
There’s a flip side to all this devastation, though. The world’s largest system of hydroelectric power has been on standby since late 2022, when droughts caused by the La Nina climate cycle drained the reservoirs that feed it. The torrential downpours of the past few months are switching that immense machine back on.
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