China issues a state of emergency for the first time on scorching high-temperature drought
The bottom of the Jialing River at its confluence with the Yangtze River is exposed due to drought on August 18, 2022 in Chongqing, China.
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China has issued its first drought emergency of this year as scorching temperatures dry up parts of the Yangtze River and put pressure on the power grid as the country faces a record-breaking heatwave. green.
Authorities issued a national yellow alert late Thursday after China’s central and southern provinces endured weeks of extreme heat, with temperatures in dozens of cities surpassing 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
The heat wave has disrupted crop growth, threatened livestock and forced some industries to close to save electricity for households.
China’s Sichuan province, home to 94 million people, ordered all factories to close this week for six days to ease power shortages in the region. The outage comes after reservoir water levels dropped and demand for air conditioners spiked amid the heat.
Rainfall in the Yangtze River Basin is also down about 45 percent from average in recent years, according to data from the Ministry of Water Resources. According to state broadcaster CCTV, as many as 66 rivers across 34 counties in the southwestern region of Chongqing have dried up.
A sprinkler irrigates a cornfield to mitigate the effects of drought caused by high temperatures, in Xiliangshi village in Boai county in Jiaozuo, Henan province, China June 20, 2022.
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Beibei District in southwestern China record temperature experience was 45 degrees Celsius, or 113 degrees Fahrenheit, on Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
Chinese officials this week announced measures to reduce the impact of the drought, including creating clouds to boost rainfall, and $44 million in disaster relief for the hardest-hit communities. and shut down some energy-intensive sectors.
Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank of China, told CNBC “Squawk Box Asia“on Thursday that the heat can have a significant impact on the Chinese economy. Wang said the country’s steel, chemical and fertilizer industries are experiencing production slowdowns.
“It will affect those industries that use a lot of energy and it will have [a] Wang said.
In July, extreme temperatures caused direct economic losses of 2.73 billion yuan, or $400 million, affecting 5.5 million people, according to data released Thursday. from China’s Ministry of Emergencies.
– By CNBC Sumathi Bala contribution report
A section of arid riverbed is seen along the Yangtze River in Jiujiang in Jiangxi province, central China on August 19, 2022.
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