South China Drought Worsens, Threatening Crops

AP reports:

The drought in the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, as well as the Guangxi Autonomous Region and the city of Chongqing, has forced local governments to tap underground water sources and use cloud seeding to produce rain for agricultural production.

More than 20 million people throughout the southern region are dealing with water shortages and about 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares) of cropland are suffering from drought, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Yunnan province is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years, with at least 6 million people affected, according to a report on the China Meteorological Bureau’s Web site. The drought has caused economic losses of 10 billion yuan (US$ 1.46 billion) in the province, mostly from lost crops or livestock, prompting the local government to pump water from sources hundreds of feet (dozens of meters) below ground, it said.

Meanwhile, more areas of China’s Guangxi region have declared a state of emergency. Since late February, 16 more regions in Guangxi have been listed as affected, bringing the total to 77 regions, the Guangxi Meteorological Bureau said on its Web site.

CDT EBOOKS

Subscribe to CDT

SUPPORT CDT

Browsers Unbounded by Lantern

Now, you can combat internet censorship in a new way: by toggling the switch below while browsing China Digital Times, you can provide a secure "bridge" for people who want to freely access information. This open-source project is powered by Lantern, know more about this project.

Google Ads 1

Giving Assistant

Google Ads 2

Anti-censorship Tools

Life Without Walls

Click on the image to download Firefly for circumvention

Open popup
X

Welcome back!

CDT is a non-profit media site, and we need your support. Your contribution will help us provide more translations, breaking news, and other content you love.