Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - China issued a warning that the Yangtze River region could experience severe drought conditions well int...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - China issued a warning that the Yangtze River region could experience severe drought conditions well into September as local governments scramble to keep the lights on and locate new water sources to irrigate crops in time for the autumn harvest.
State media claimed on Thursday that 16 people had died as a result of flooding brought on by the torrential rains in the western Chinese province of Qinghai, and an additional 36 people were still missing.
A severe heatwave that has been affecting China's longest river, the Yangtze, basin for more than two months has been brought on by an unusually huge Western Pacific subtropical high. This heatwave has reduced hydropower production and dried out vast areas of fertile land.
State media stated that as supplies to industrial consumers are rationed, the grid in Chongqing's vast southwest, where the majority of the Yangtze's Three Gorges reservoir is situated, is now trying to acquire electricity from other parts of the nation.
The neighboring Sichuan province, which typically sends vast amounts of surplus hydroelectricity to the eastern coast but is currently enforcing severe consumption limitations, has also pledged that China's State Grid will make every effort to dispatch power there.
According to Liu Zhiyu, a representative from the Ministry of Water Resources, the return of normal water flows in the area could still be months away given the low rainfall forecasted through the end of this month and beyond.
Liu cautioned, referring to four significant provinces on the middle reaches of the river, that "it is anticipated that in September, water inflows in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze would still be low, and the drought in Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi could worsen further."
Since July, rainfall in the Yangtze basin has been about 45% below average, and hot temperatures are expected to last at least another week, according to government estimates.
Authorities in the area also issued a warning that temperatures would continue to rise above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday, with some areas of Chongqing expected to reach 44 degrees or higher, further straining power infrastructure due to the increased use of air conditioners.
According to officials, water levels on the Yangtze River's main trunk and the important flood basin lakes of Dongting and Poyang are currently at least 4.85 meters (16 feet) shallower than average and the lowest on record for the time period.
The marine safety bureau for the Yangtze has issued several alerts regarding low water levels, directing ships to lighten their loads when navigating through the river's shallower sections.
Due to a decrease in transportation capacity, freight rates for coal delivery along the river increased 8% last week.
The "CRITICAL PERIOD"
In order to ensure food supply and ensure another bountiful crop, China views controlling its water resources as an essential component of its governance system.
At the same Wednesday briefing, Vice-Minister of Water Resources Liu Weiping warned that irrigation for rice and other autumn crops was now in a "critical stage."
According to him, damage to some 820,000 hectares (2 million acres) of fertile land from Sichuan in the southwest to Anhui in central China has affected 830,000 people and 160,000 head of animals.
The Yangtze River, which provides water for about a third of China's population, is controlled by a series of enormous hydropower dams, which have a significant impact on flow regulation.
To restock storage levels at the Three Gorges Dam, enormous upstream reservoirs like Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba have opened their gates, releasing 830 million cubic meters of water downstream over the next few days, according to Liu.
Since the beginning of August, the Yangtze River's reservoirs have already released an additional 5.3 billion cubic meters of water.
