China to see rise in typhoons, flood, drought this year

China may witness more typhoons and be troubled by flood and drought simultaneously this year, said Chen Lei, minister of water resources, on Friday.

"With global warming, there has been more and more extreme weather in recent years," said Chen on the sidelines of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress, citing the floods that happened in the past two years in Yangtze River, the country's longest, and Taihu Lake.

He said meteorological forecast has showed that China may face more extreme weather than normal years again this year. More typhoons will form and make landfalls in the country and may bring more serious effects, he said.

While flood is expected to strike Yangtze and Zhujiang rivers and Taihu Lake in southern China and Yellow, Haihe and Liaohe rivers in the northern part, drought may happen in regions such as western part of Northeast China in the coming summer.

He said the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters will hold its first conference to make preparations for the extreme weather this year and great effort will be made to reduce losses to the public.