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SHANGHAI: The southwestern Chinese regions of Chonqging and Sichuan were battling fires on Tuesday (Aug 23) as they awaited a long-anticipated drop in temperatures over the next week, but the country’s important autumn harvest could remain threatened.
Officials warned this month that temperatures are rising faster in China than in the rest of the world. The record-breaking heatwave has raised concerns about the country’s ability to adapt to rapid climate change and conserve its already scarce water resources.
Satellite images showed Poyang Lake, which usually takes on floodwaters from the Yangtze River over the summer, at a fraction of its normal size for this time of year, reducing the drinking water supplies of nearby communities, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Water from the Three Gorges and Danjiangkou reservoirs has already been released to alleviate downstream shortages, the broadcaster added.
The drought poses a “severe threat” to China’s autumn crops, the ministry of agriculture said in a notice on Tuesday, adding that local authorities had been instructed to do everything they can to increase water supplies and protect the harvest.
Farmers suffering from severe crop damage will be urged to replant, and cloud-seeding rockets will be made available wherever possible, the ministry said.
State forecasters said China’s heatwave, which has lasted more than two months, was about to hit a “turning point”, with a cold front coming in from the west and a typhoon approaching in the southeast.
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