BEIJING: China’s Ministry of Water Resources on Wednesday activated a Level IV emergency response to drought in eight provinces, namely Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
Since the beginning of May, low precipitation and high temperatures have led to drought in vast parts of the country, according to the ministry.
The ministry has directed the local governments to leverage water transfer and irrigation facilities to ensure adequate supply of water as the drought is likely to linger or deteriorate over the next 10 days.
Also on Wednesday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters dispatched two teams to hard-hit Shandong and Henan to provide disaster relief guidance. Henan and Shandong, respectively the largest and the second-largest wheat-producing provinces in China, are among China’s major summer grain powerhouses.
The Ministry of Emergency Management has called on relevant government departments to monitor drought conditions, formulate emergency contingency plans and strengthen guidance on agricultural techniques.
The National Meteorological Center on Thursday continued its orange alert for high temperatures, which is the second-highest weather warning.
The persistently high temperatures and drought in recent days have had impacts on crops such as corn in multiple provinces, including central China’s Henan Province and east China’s Anhui Province. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
