As it happened: Heatwave 2022 — 'Monster wildfire' in France, drought in England, China's Yangtze river shrinks

Meteo France not able to predict exact positions of storms has issued alerts with immediate effects as strong winds began to hit Corsica.

A powerful storm that unleashed swirling hurricane-force winds ravaged Corsica and left 45,000 homes without electricity claiming lives of five people, including a teenage girl and an elderly woman.

Parts of the country, which has been plagued by a string of heatwaves and severe drought, experienced more rain in a matter of hours than it has in the previous months.

As China confronts catastrophic weather that has shut down factories and led to power outages in different regions, the state media announced that 16 people were found dead and several others are still missing in flash flooding in northwest China.

This comes during the time when the country has been seeing record-breaking temperatures and heavy rainfall with flooding damaging cities.

China issued a warning that the Yangtze River region could see severe drought conditions last till September as local governments scramble to maintain light and water to irrigate crops in time for the autumn harvest.

The Yangtze River area has been experiencing a severe heatwave for more than two months, brought on by a Western Pacific subtropical high that has reduced hydropower production and dried out land.

The state media reported that as supplies to industry are rationed, the expansive southwest of Chongqing, where the majority of the three reservoirs are situated, is struggling to get electricity from other regions of the country.

Authorities also warned that temperatures would continue to rise above 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday, with some regions expected to reach 44 degrees or higher.

As China reels under a massive heatwave with water levels dropping to record low in the Yangtze River, reports say authorities have deployed planes to shoot silver iodide rods into the sky to ensure rainfall.

Authorities say large parts of the Yangtze river have also dried up as officials battle drought conditions.

China's water resources ministry said the dry spell had "adversely" hit drinking water security in rural areas with crops and livestock severely affected.

Read full story

Winemakers all around France are concerned that climate-induced stress will lower grape quality as a result of having to start selecting grapes considerably earlier than usual due to sweltering temperatures. 

The generally lush Alsace in the northeast was affected by the unusually dry circumstances that began in the rocky hills of Herault along the Mediterranean, where picking has already begun. 

This summer's waves of high heat accelerated grape maturation, necessitating the start of harvests one to three weeks earlier than usual—in Languedoc-Roussillon, some growers even began in late July.

At least 20 passengers on board a train in Spain suffered burn injuries when the train ran into a wildfire. Three of them are said to have sustained severe burns, and one of whom had to be evacuated by helicopter. The injured include a 58-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl.

The "monster" wildfire, which has destroyed woods and forced 10,000 people to leave their homes, raged for a third day in southwest France on Thursday. The big fire was battling on multiple fronts, and firemen supported by water-bombing planes warned that there wouldn't be a break in the heat until the weekend.

China's Yangtze river has dried up in parts, forcing the regions that are dependent on the longest river to deploy pumps and cloud-seeding rockets.

Yangtze's water levels have been depleted due to a drought, which is also posing risks to the crops. Reports have mentioned that the heatwave is set to last another two weeks.

As parts of the nation continue to struggle, the ministry of water resources said in a notice on Wednesday (August 17) that drought throughout the Yangtze river basin was "adversely affecting drinking water security of rural people and livestock, and the growth of crops."