#China #warns #threat #crops #worst #heatwave #record
China’s autumn harvest is “seriously threatened” by high temperatures and drought, authorities have warned, urging measures to protect the crop amid the country’s hottest summer on record.
The world’s second largest economy has been hit this summer by record high temperatures, flash floods and droughts – phenomena scientists have warned are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to climate change.
Southern China in particular has seen the longest sustained period of high temperatures and scant rain since records began more than 60 years ago, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
Four government departments issued a notice on Tuesday calling for measures to protect crops and that “every unit of water is used carefully” through methods such as staggered irrigation and cloud seeding aimed at inducing rain.
“The rapid development of drought, superimposed with high temperatures and heat damage, seriously threatened the autumn harvest,” the statement said.
The warning comes as several Chinese provinces announce power outages to cope with a surge in demand, partly due to people cranking up air conditioning to withstand temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
The megacities of Shanghai and Chongqing have shut down decorative outdoor lighting, while authorities in southwestern Sichuan province have imposed industrial blackouts as water levels at key hydroelectric power stations drop.
More than 1,500 people around Chongqing were evacuated Monday after hot and dry conditions sparked multiple wildfires, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The National Weather Service on Tuesday renewed its warnings of drought and high temperatures and urged 11 provincial governments to “activate” emergency response.
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