Chinese scientists find some Yangtze flood controls may do more harm than good

For centuries, the Yangtze River has been China’s vital lifeblood, yet its floods have claimed countless lives. To tame its waters, flood-control systems have evolved from ancient dykes to the engineering marvel of the Three Gorges Dam. But a new study has uncovered a paradox: some human interventions may have inadvertently worsened the very flood risks they were built to mitigate. “We show that flood frequency peaked during the Little Ice Age [1500−1850] … and that human interventions,...