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The most extensive drought-related famine occurred in northern China between 1876 and 1879, when it is estimated that 9 to 13 million people perished for three years without rain. At the same time in India(1876–1878), the monsoons failed in a row, resulting in the deaths of almost 5 million people.
Key Takeaways
- China is facing the biggest drought condition of its time
- Due to extended summer problems, the longest river in China, the Yangtze, has dried up
- Due to the unavailability of water, hydroelectricity generation has decreased leaving the cities and towns in the dark.
- The heatwaves & constantly changing environment can be held up for worsening situations in the regions.
History Behind River Draughts
The Yangtze, the longest river in Asia and the most incredible river in China, has dried up due to China experiencing its most extended summer in 64 years. Large cities or small towns are now sharing power outages due to the Yangtze River drying up, which has affected hydroelectric power generation and led to water shortages in the dams.
The Chinese authorities last week halted or restricted the electrical supply to thousands of industries in Sichuan in light of this. Companies like Toyota, Foxconn, and Tesla have temporarily suspended operations at several China-based units. In China’s Sichuan, Hebei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Chongqing prefectures, at least 2.46 million people and 2.2 million hectares of agricultural land have been affected by drought.
According to China’s Ministry of Emergency Management, the drought is also causing more than 780,000 people to require direct government help. After so many years, China has seen direct financial damage of 2.73 billion yuan in July alone due to the drought, which has affected 5.5 million people.
Low Water Levels & Low Electricity Production
In reaction to the twin whammy of high demand for electricity and low production, emergency measures to save electricity have been implemented, including industries closing, stores limiting business hours, and office buildings turning off air conditioning. Major cities located around rivers like Shanghai and Luzhou are turning down their famed shoreline lights and street lights at night to relieve pressure on the electrical grid.
Poyang Lake Dries up near Agricultural Areas.
As per China’s Ministry of Water Resources, summer rainfall in the basin of the Yangtze has been at its lowest level since records began being kept in 1961. Similarly, according to China’s National Climate Centre, extended regional heat waves have shattered all previous records.
The National Meteorological Centre issued its highest “high-temperature alert” for six days between August 12 and 17 as temperatures reached their maximum point last week. In the province of Sichuan, there have been forest fires; the Chongqing municipality has been particularly heavily hit.
Condition of Rivers and Lakes in China
In a region that depends on irrigation for agriculture, lakes fed by the Yangtze, like the Dongting Lake in Hunan Province, have substantially diminished. Poyang Lake in Jiangxi province, the largest freshwater lake in China, has decreased by almost 75%. According to the municipal government. Local farmers use the lake’s nutrient-rich water to irrigate their fields and crops.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, the low water level has also disrupted local populations’ access to drinking water, causing the government to release water from the Three Gorges and Danjiangkou reservoirs to remedy shortages. With hundreds of acres already gone in Sichuan province, the drought threatens China’s autumn harvest across the area. The exceptionally high temperatures are expected to persist until the end of August.
Weather Conditions
The heatwave this summer in China has broken all previous records regarding intensity, effect, scope, and duration. On August 19, 2022, a countrywide drought was declared since it was anticipated that the country’s ongoing heatwave in the southwest would last well into September.
On August 21, 2022, China’s four-tiered climate alert system for extreme heat issued a red alert for the tenth day in a row, according to the Chinese news agency People’s Daily. The nation is also trying to lessen the severe weather’s effects on the fall harvest.
Several rivers, especially the Yangtze, have dried up due to the nation’s record-breaking heat wave. As of August 15, 2022, the current heatwave had lasted 64 days, and 200 monitoring stations had recorded temperatures above 40 °C.
Meanwhile, as heavy rains were predicted to hit China’s northern provinces, the State Flood Management and Drought Relief Headquarters declared a level-IV emergency reaction for flood control last week, according to a Chinese news agency. According to the China Meteorological Administration, heat waves have affected some areas of the country since June 13. The organisation is situated in Beijing and serves as the country’s national weather service.
