How did natural disasters worsen the crisis during the Great Leap Forward?

During the Great Leap Forward, natural disasters acted as a catalyst that transformed existing economic and agricultural disruptions into a national catastrophe.1

While the campaign was already struggling due to inefficient commune structures, the diversion of farm labor into small-scale industry, and the slaughter of livestock, the situation was severely exacerbated by three consecutive years of natural calamities beginning in 1959. During this period, China experienced a combination of severe floods and drought.12

These environmental challenges deepened the crisis because the government’s rigid political environment prevented an effective response. Because local cadres feared being labeled "rightists" for reporting failures or suggesting policy adjustments, they continued to follow unrealistic orders for large-scale food procurement despite the widespread crop failures. Consequently, the natural disasters turned a period of economic mismanagement into a famine that resulted in an estimated 20 million deaths between 1959 and 1962.21