Reuters: China has warned that a severe drought along the Yangtze River could last until September, as local governments scramble to keep power and find fresh water to irrigate crops before the autumn harvest.
Heavy rainfall in Qinghai has killed 16 people and left 36 missing, state media reported Thursday.
Because of a subtropical high in the Western Pacific that is bigger than usual, the heatwave has lasted for more than two months, cutting off hydropower supplies and drying out arable land.
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According to state media, the grid in Chongqing, where the majority of the Yangtze’s Three Gorges reservoir is located, is scrambling to secure electricity from other parts of the country.
China’s State Grid also said it would send power to Sichuan province, which usually sends extra hydroelectricity to the east coast but is now putting strict limits on how much electricity can be used.
At a briefing on Wednesday, an official from the Ministry of Water Resources, Liu Zhiyu, said that rain will be low until the end of the month and even after that.
“In September, water inflows in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze will likely remain low, and the drought in Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi could worsen,” Liu warned, referring to four middle Yangtze provinces.
Since July, rainfall in the Yangtze basin has been 45% below normal, and high temperatures are expected to last another week.
Authorities in the area also said that temperatures would stay above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday, with some parts of Chongqing reaching 44 degrees. This would put pressure on power supplies because more people would be using air conditioners.
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The main trunk of the Yangtze and the vital flood basin lakes of Dongting and Poyang are 4.85 metres (16 feet) lower than normal, officials said.
The maritime safety bureau on the Yangtze has warned about low water levels and told ships to carry less cargo in shallower areas.
Freight rates for coal delivery along the river rose 8% last week because of reduced shipping capacity.
‘Critical Period’
Controlling water resources is seen as a crucial part of government in China as it tries to guarantee food supplies and secure another bumper harvest.
Rice and other autumn crops were now at a “critical period” when it comes to irrigation.
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He said around 820,000 hectares (2 million acres) of arable land from Sichuan in the southwest to central China’s Anhui had suffered damage, affecting 830,000 people as well as 160,000 head of livestock.
The drought has also shown how important it is for a series of huge hydropower projects to control the flow of the Yangtze, which provides water for about a third of China’s people.
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Giant upstream reservoirs like Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba have opened their gates to replenish storage levels at the Three Gorges Dam, which will release 830 million cubic metres downstream over the coming days, Liu said.
Since the beginning of August, dams along the Yangtze have already let out an extra 5.3 billion cubic metres of water.
