Severe drought, heat wave grip agricultural heartland(2)

Swift to act

As large areas of China have sweltered under a heat wave in recent weeks, farming communities across the country are dealing with severe drought conditions.

Recent action taken by authorities to alleviate the impact of the drought include increased discharges in the Yellow River and Huaihe River basins, with various provinces contributing to drought relief efforts, Chen Min, vice-minister of water resources, said during a news conference on Monday.

Water diversion projects and reservoir management are helping ensure water supplies for both agricultural production and residential needs during the dry spell, Chen added.

In the Yellow River Basin, the Xiaolangdi Reservoir discharge has been raised from 1,500 to 1,800 cubic meters per second since June 15 for emergency drought relief in Henan and Shandong provinces.

Shaanxi province released 800 million cubic meters of water from its reservoirs, while water diversion projects provided 39.9 million cubic meters of water.

Looking ahead, rainfall expected over the next 10 days in drought-affected areas could provide relief by replenishing water sources, Chen said.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has maintained a Level 4 emergency response to the drought spell in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Hebei, Shandong and Henan, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday. China has a four-tier response system, with Level 1 being for the most severe conditions.

On Monday, a yellow alert, the lowest level for high temperature warnings, was issued by the National Meteorological Centre. High temperatures of 35 C to 36 C are forecast to hit parts of China's northern and central regions, with some areas expected to reach as high as 40 C.

On Tuesday, sections of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Liaoning provinces will experience high temperatures of 37 C to 39 C, with some locations peaking at 40 C and above.

"This summer, temperatures in most parts of the country are higher than usual, with an increased number of hot days and more frequent occurrences of prolonged hot weather," said Zheng Zhihai, chief forecaster at China's National Climate Center.

He said areas such as North China, East China, Central China, South China and Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region may experience periodic heat waves, with certain areas possibly facing extreme high temperatures.

The Ministry of Emergency Management said recent rainfall in some parts of the country was half the amount typical for this time of year.