Drought in China: Rivers and lakes dry up; farmers struggle as agricultural regions impacted severely
Heatwave and drought in China
China has been reeling amid a persisting heatwave and drought as the ongoing weather conditions have dried up rivers and lakes across a large swath of the southwestern part of the country.
Heat 'red alert'
A report on August 22 noted that the state weather forecasters issued a heat "red alert" for the 11th consecutive day as extreme weather continued to play havoc.
They also raised the national drought alert to "orange" - the second-highest level.
Cracked and exposed lakebed
The cracked and exposed lakebed of the Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province were shown by the state-run broadcaster CCTV.
Apart from that, the riverbed of the Jialing river also displayed a similar fate. It is a tributary of the Yangtze river in Chongqing.
Curbs on power consumption
The southwestern regions are struggling as the curbs on power consumption were extended on August 22.
Amid the long drought and heatwave conditions, those particular regions deal with dwindling hydropower output and surging household electricity demand.
Record temperatures
From Sichuan in the southwest to Fujian on the southeastern coast, a total of 62 weather stations saw record temperatures on August 21, as per the National Meteorological Center.
The situation could improve starting August 24 as a cold front moves into China via Xinjiang.
Sichuan - a major power supplier
As per a report by Reuters, Sichuan, which is a major power supplier to the rest of the country, has recently put a new coal storage base into operation to make sure its thermal plants can operate without disruption.
The financial news service Caixin said on Sunday that in the Sichuan province, authorities have extended existing curbs on industrial power consumers until Thursday (August 25).
Agricultural regions impacted
Important agricultural regions have been impacted severely. Henan province said that more than a million hectares of land have been affected by drought so far. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, about 2.2 million hectares across the Yangtze basin have been affected.
State broadcaster CCTV said that the Poyang Lake, located in one of the Yangtze river's flood plains and described as China's "kidney" because of the role it plays in regulating water supplies, is now 67% smaller than the average over the last 10 years.
Farmers struggle
The state media reported on Monday (Aug 22) that the farmers are struggling to find ways to save their crops amid the extreme weather.
The ministry of agriculture said on August 21 that the drought has already "severely affected" mid-season rice and summer corn in some southern regions.
The above image, which was recently published by news agency Reuters, shows that villagers have been lined up to receive water from a water supply truck amid hot temperatures in Xinshi village of Chongqing.
(With inputs from agencies)
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