Southwest China’s Chonqging and Sichuan regions were battling wildfires on Tuesday as they awaited a long-awaited drop in temperatures next week, but the country’s important autumn harvest remained under serious threat. Officials warned this month that temperatures were rising faster in China than the rest of the world, and a record-breaking heat wave has raised concern about its ability to adapt to rapid climate change and conserve already scarce water resources. Satellite images showed Poyang Lake, which normally receives floodwaters from the Yangtze River during the summer, at a fraction of its normal size for the time of year, reducing the supply of drinking water for nearby communities, state broadcaster reported. CCTV station. Water from the Three Gorges and Danjiang reservoirs had already been released to ease shortages downstream, the broadcaster said. Drought posed a “serious threat” to China’s autumn crops, the agriculture ministry said in a statement, adding that authorities were instructed to do all they could to increase water reserves and protect the crop. Farmers suffering severe crop damage will be encouraged to replant and cloud-seeding missiles will be made available where possible, the ministry said. State forecasters said the heat wave, which has lasted more than two months, was about to hit a “tipping point,” with a cold front coming in from the west and a hurricane approaching in the southeast. However, severe power shortages continued across the region, with Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu, turning off the lights on subway trains to save energy. High temperatures have reduced the use of air conditioners to about a third of the province’s total electrical load, and hydropower production has been halved as a result of low water levels. Despite the power shortage, which has led to restrictions on industrial use, ANZ economists said in a note that China was unlikely to see a repeat of last year’s nationwide power shortage, which was caused by tight coal supplies. The impact on gross domestic product was “negligible” for now, ANZ said. Sichuan normally delivers huge volumes of hydropower to the east coast through the power grid, and lower output means coal-fired power stations elsewhere have had to pick up the slack. CCTV reported that coal plants in central Anhui province were operating at maximum capacity and had produced 12 percent more electricity than normal to meet demand from eastern regions. Although the “red alert” for heat remains in effect for a 12th day, temperatures are expected to drop in central regions by Wednesday and in Sichuan and Chongqing from Aug. 29, the National Meteorological Center said on its Weibo channel. Heavy rains could hit mountainous western Sichuan on August 27-28, raising the risk of flooding and landslides, media reported, citing the Sichuan Hydrology and Water Resources Research Center. Authorities should use the opportunity to store as much water as possible, he said. Authorities also issued a “red alert” for the fire, warning that the situation is “extremely dangerous” in forested areas of central and southern Chongqing and eastern Sichuan, the official China News Service said. Chongqing and Sichuan, where rainfall has been 80 percent less than normal, have had to deal with as many as 19 fires since Aug. 14, according to financial news service Caixin. No deaths or injuries have been reported, but Chongqing has been forced to evacuate 1,500 people because of the fire risk, authorities there said. Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces are also on high alert for forest and grassland fires, the Ministry of Emergency Management warned. The ministry said it has dispatched more than 2,800 state-level firefighters to Chongqing and Sichuan to help. Be smart with your money. Get the latest investment information delivered straight to your inbox three times a week with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.
