(Beijing) China’s heatwave and drought pose a “serious threat” to autumn harvests, authorities have warned, as the food-vulnerable country faces record high temperatures.
Posted at 12:04 a.m.
An unprecedented heat wave has affected part of China in recent weeks, where up to 45 ° C have been recorded in the south-west of the country.
This heat wave has led in many regions to a worrying drop in water levels and to a problematic drought for farmers, especially for rice and soybean crops, which are very water-intensive.
In this context, four ministries called on Tuesday to take measures to protect crops and to use every drop of water with “parsimony”.
“The rapid spread of the drought, superimposed on high temperatures and heat damage, pose a serious threat to autumn agricultural production”, underlines a notice published in particular by the Ministry of Agriculture.
In recent months, specialists have already been worried about uncertain harvests this year in China, due to health restrictions against COVID-19, which disrupt trade and logistics, and have delayed sowing in the spring.
Normally, China is already in short supply of arable land.
The Asian country is being hit this summer by record high temperatures, flash floods and dry spells. Phenomena that are becoming more frequent due to climate change, according to scientists.
The heat wave has forced the authorities in recent days to ration electricity locally, at a time when air conditioners are running at full speed, but the production of hydroelectric energy is struggling to keep up, due to the drying up of rivers.
China’s heatwave has lowered the level of the Yangtze River, the country’s most important inland waterway, to unprecedented levels in some places, official data showed.
In order to save electricity, shopping centers can temporarily only open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the municipality-province of Chongqing (southwest), where 31 million people live.
At the other end of the country, Shanghai has temporarily turned off the decorative lights around its famous Bund avenue.
The site is known for offering a breathtaking view of the skyscrapers usually lit up with a thousand lights at night, with countless giant advertising screens and beams of light.