To overcome a severe drought, China is generating rain

Asia’s longest river, the Yangtze, is currently at record low levels. There have been periods where the rainfall has been less than half of normal. According to officials, hydropower reservoirs are presently down by much to 50%. A rise in air conditioning demand has also put power firms under tremendous pressure.

According to the National Climate Centre, the two-month heatwave in China is the longest on record. According to local media, provinces around the Yangtze river experiencing a drought have resorted to cloud seeding operations to make up for the lack of rain.

Hubei and a few other provinces have launched rockets carrying chemicals into the sky. In some places, though, attempts to do the same have halted due to a lack of cloud cover.

As a result, according to the Sichuan Daily, which was cited by the news agency Reuters, government offices in Sichuan were instructed to maintain air conditioning levels at no lower than 26C (79 F). Additionally, employees have been instructed to use stairs whenever possible rather than lifts.

Blackouts have also affected millions of people in the province. According to local media, blackouts in Dazhou, a city of 5.4 million, can last up to three hours.

They claim that as a result of emergency efforts to divert power supply to homes, firms in the province have been compelled to reduce production or stop operations.

In the coming week, heavy rains may continue in parts of northwestern China, Inner Mongolia, and northern and northeastern China. Heat-driven drought could continue in the Yangtze River basin, authorities said in a videoconference on Monday.

New plans for flood and drought control to prevent accidents have been developed by the State Headquarters of China for Flood and Drought Control and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the PRC, Xinhua News Agency reported on August 15.

Local authorities called for advance warning of tourist groups, workers, and passing vehicles of recent flash floods and increased regulation of tourist attractions, hazard zones, construction sites, and road sections affected by flooding. Authorities must also formulate targeted measures to avoid casualties.

Communities should also identify hidden risks and strengthen preventive and response measures for heavy rainstorms, the agencies said.

Authorities said that given flood control on the Raoyang River in northeast China’s Liaoning province, the water diversion process needs to be accelerated to help people in disaster-hit areas return to their homes as soon as possible.

Drought relief assistance and emergency water transfer should also be promoted in the Yangtze River basin. The headquarters sent two teams and a group of experts to provincial-level regions, including Sichuan, Jiangxi, and Xinjiang, to guide drought relief and flood control efforts.