BEIJING -Beijing and other cities braced for severe flooding on Friday as summer storms rolled across many parts of China, while inland regions baked in intense heat, threatening to shrink the country’s biggest freshwater lake. Authorities in the neighboring city of Tianjin also ramped up flood control efforts in the Hai basin, a major northern drainage system. Temperatures of 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) and above continued to menace other parts of China. Northwestern Xinjiang, where temperatures hit a record high 52.2C on Sunday, remained blanketed in worse-than-usual heat while in neighboring Gansu province, some areas suffered intense heat while others warned of floods and landslides. Chinese officials have warned repeatedly that China is vulnerable to the impact of climate change due to its large population and unevenly distributed water supplies.
