China has issued its first national drought alert this yearas authorities mobilize specialized teams to protect crops from extreme heat in the Yangtze River Valley.
EITHER “yellow alert” for the whole countryannounced Thursday night, it comes after weeks of high temperatures that have dried up areas along the Yangtze, damaging crops and limiting clean water supplies to some rural communities.
On the Beijing scale, yellow is the third most serious alert level.
About 66 rivers in 34 villages in Southwest China It dried out due to extreme heat and lack of rain..
Precipitation levels are down 60% this year compared to seasonal standards, state television CCTV reported on Monday.
The National Meteorological Center of China renewed this day its red alert for high temperatures, the maximum level, thus adding thirty consecutive days of alert.
As of Friday morning, central China’s Chongqing Municipality was home to six of the country’s 10 hottest areas, with temperatures in Bishan County exceeding 39 degrees Celsius.
Forecasters also predicted that the current heat wave will not begin to subside until August 26.
According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Emergencies, the high temperatures in July caused direct economic losses of 2,730 million yuan (397 million euros) and affected 5.5 million people.
The country’s main water agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the drought in the Yangtze River Basin is “negatively affect the safety of drinking water for rural people and livestockand crop growth.
This unusual drought in some areas of central China, accompanied by an unprecedented heat wave, caused the suspension of activity in several factories, due to the increase in energy demand to supply the population’s air conditioning and insufficient production, given scarcity of water in reservoirs. in regions dependent on hydroelectric power.
Source: Observadora
