Shanghai Floods Disrupt World AI Conference as Heavy Rain Inundates City

From July 17 to 20, 2026, Shanghai hosted the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC). On July 19 the city was hit by an extreme thunderstorm that produced record‑breaking rainfall, with three monitoring stations recording “extreme rain” and twenty stations reporting heavy rain.

The downpour caused severe urban flooding: streets turned into waterways, vehicles were stranded or floated, and underground facilities such as a Hema supermarket were completely submerged. Residents in the Yangpu district reported water reaching the level of car tires and even entering dormitory floors at Fudan University. The flood also affected commercial sites like the IFC Mall, Wanda Plaza and the Jiangwan Sports Centre.

Netizens used footage of the weather to mock Chinese leader Xi Jinping, posting comments such as “老天爷都看不下去了” (“Heaven can no longer stand it”). Authorities had earlier imposed restrictions on low‑altitude drones and ordered windows facing certain streets to remain closed for the duration of the conference.

The incident highlighted the vulnerability of Shanghai’s infrastructure to extreme weather and temporarily disrupted conference activities and daily life across multiple districts.