China has announced that it will try to protect its grain harvest from an unprecedented drought by using chemicals to generate rain, as the thermometer reached 45 degrees Celsius.
Authorities “will try to increase the amount of rain” by seeding clouds with chemicals and spraying crops with a “water retention agent” to limit evaporation, the agriculture ministry said on its website. He gave no details about where the operation would take place.
The hottest and driest summer since the government began recording rainfall and temperature 61 years ago has withered crops and left reservoirs at half their normal water level.
The next 10 days will be a “key period” in determining the fate of southern China’s rice crop, Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian said, according to the Global Times newspaper.
Authorities will take emergency measures to “ensure the autumn grain harvest”, which accounts for 75 percent of China’s annual total, Tang said on Friday, according to the report.
The drought is another challenge for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to shore up sluggish economic growth ahead of a congress in October or November where incumbent President Xi Jinping is expected to seek a third five-year term.
A smaller Chinese grain harvest would have a potential global impact. This would boost import demand, adding further pressure on runaway inflation in North America and Europe.
Electricity shortage and floods
Also on Sunday, thousands of factories in Sichuan province that make solar panels, electronic chips and other industrial goods waited to hear whether last week’s six-day shutdown would be extended. Factories had to shut down to save energy for homes as demand for air conditioning increased.
Authorities did not respond to phone calls about it.
The governments of Sichuan and neighboring Hubei province said thousands of hectares of crops were lost and millions were damaged.
The Hubei government declared a state of emergency on Saturday due to drought and announced relief measures. The Sichuan government, for its part, estimates that 819,000 people face a shortage of drinking water.
Offices and shopping malls in Sichuan have been ordered to turn off lights and air conditioning. The metro in Chengdu, the provincial capital, said it turned off thousands of lights at stations.
Meanwhile, other regions have suffered flash and deadly floods.
Floods in the northwest province of Qinghai have killed at least 26 people and left 5 missing, state television reported on Sunday, citing local authorities.
Landslides and overflowing rivers affected six villages in Datong County on Thursday night, according to earlier reports. Some 1,500 people were driven from their homes.