China Declares Emergency over Drought

[Farmer]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/04/content_10763164.htm

No rain in Beijing for 100 days


www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-04 16:51:17 Print

BEIJING Feb. 4 -- It has not rained in Beijing since October 26, a period of 100 days, making this the longest drought on record since 1971. The meteorological department says the dry weather will continue through early February but in the second half of the month the capital may see 4 or 5 millimeters of snow.

Farms hit hard by drought

The drought has seriously affected the growth of winter wheat in areas round the capital. In the worst hit areas the fields are cracked and dry and the wheat has withered. The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) says the drought is the worst for many years in terms of duration and the area affected.

Causes of the dry weather

Since last December four cold fronts have swept Beijing bringing freezing temperatures and strong winds, but no snow. The long dry spell has been caused by the dominant flow of cold air from the northwest, say experts.

Zong Zhiping, chief weatherman of CMA, said the lack of rainfall was the result of abnormal atmospheric conditions preventing water vapor reaching China from the Bay of Bengal. The weather in almost all regions of China, apart from the northeast, has been dominated by cold, dry air from the northwest.

Risk of colds and flu

Dry weather is associated with viral influenza. Hospitals report that a large proportion of recently admitted patients are suffering from respiratory disease.
Experts say when the dry weather turns warm there may be a mass outbreak of influenza, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases. Doctors advise people to drink plenty of water, open the windows and doors to let in fresh air. The elderly should as far as possible avoid crowds and public places and those suffering from flu should take time off work to avoid infecting others.

Public parks not affected

Staff in Beijing's public parks and gardens say the water shortage has not caused severe problems, but the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry and Beijing Park Management Center told the media that the spring plant irrigation will probably be carried out earlier than in previous years.

Plants are given large amounts of water in November each year. During the winter, the land freezes and plants turn dormant, so their growth is not affected by the dry winter weather.

Management at Beihai Park and the Summer Palace said that the soil is still frozen and so long as enough water is provided when the thaw comes plant growth will not be affected. If the temperature continues to rise, they will irrigate the plants ahead of schedule. "Usually we start the spring irrigation in early March. But we might irrigate the plants earlier this year."

(Source: China.org.cn)

[Treyfish]

China Declares Emergency over Drought

China declares state of emergency over drought

China has declared a state of emergency after the worst drought in half-a-century wiped out crops in northern China and left millions of people without drinking water.



By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Last Updated: 7:28PM GMT 05 Feb 2009

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A farmer carries pails to transport water from a partially dried-up pond at the outskirts of Yingtan, Jiangxi province Photo: REUTERS

A farmer displays a rapeseed plant withered due to lack of water and frost, in a field on the outskirts of Zhengzhou, Henan province Photo: REUTERS

A shepherd watches over his flock of goats and sheep on a drought-ridden field near the village of Houyan, located south of Beijing Photo: REUTERS

Farmer carries pitchfork as he collects firewood in his field located near his house in village of Da Shi Men Photo: REUTERS


The northern and central provinces of Henan and Anhui, both of which are major grain producers, estimate that they could lose as much a fifth of their wheat crop.
Both provinces are desperately poor, and home to millions of migrant workers, many of whom have been laid off by factories on China's coast.
Roughly 3.7 million people and 1.9 million head of livestock do not have easy access to water.
China's State Council, the equivalent of a ministerial cabinet, on Thursday ordered another 300 million yuan (£30 million) of aid in addition to the 100 million yuan that has been spent on relief supplies since the end of last year.
President Hu Jintao said that all efforts must be made to save the summer grain harvest.
"With the drought reaching a severity rarely seen in history, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has called a level two emergency," China National Radio reported. Level two is categorised as a "serious" emergency on a four-stage scale, with level one being the worst.
Some areas have seen no rain or snow since November, while Beijing has not had a drop of rain for 100 days. Zong Zhiping, the head forecaster at the China Meteorological Association, said the lack of rainfall was due to a series of cold fronts that have stopped rain clouds reaching China from the Bay of Bengal.
Almost half of China's wheat is grown in just eight provinces, all of which have been affected by the drought. Around 9.5 million hectares of farmland has been hit.
The drought may also make birds more susceptible to avian flu, scientists said. There have been eight cases of bird flu in humans since the start of the year, six more than in the whole of 2008. The Food and Agriculture Organisation has hinted that China may not be reporting a major outbreak of the disease among its poultryhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...r-drought.html

[sharon sanders]

Re: China Declares Emergency over Drought

Drought-hit China to divert waters from two longest rivers: report

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=160 align=right><TBODY><TR><TD>
Water from the Yangtze River, the country's longest, will be diverted to the northern areas of eastern Jiangsu Province.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 8, 2009
China will divert water from its two longest rivers to help farmers hit by the country's worst drought in decades, state media said Sunday.

Water from the Yangtze River, the country's longest, will be diverted to the northern areas of eastern Jiangsu Province, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing Zhang Zhitong, a senior Ministry of Water Resources emergency official.


The announcement came after Beijing last week raised its drought emergency to the highest level for the first time and sent relief supplies and technical specialists to eight major drought-hit regions.
Floodgates will also be opened in Inner Mongolia along the Yellow River, the country's second longest river, to increase water supply for central Henan and eastern Shandong provinces, Zhang according to the report.
China has released more than five billion cubic meters (177 cubic feet) of water from the Yellow River to fight the drought that has hit most of its north since November, Xinhua said.

The drought is also affecting central and southwestern rice-growing provinces.


More than 4.3 million people and 2.1 million head of livestock are short of water, the relief headquarters said this week, as parts of the nation experience their worst drought since the early 1950s.


About 43 percent of the country's winter wheat supplies are at risk, as some areas have seen no rain for 100 days or more, state media said previously.


The dry spell highlights one of China's main long-term worries, as water resources are being rapidly depleted due to the country's fast economic growth.


The capital, Beijing, is particularly badly hit, with experts warning the city of 17 million people will soon face water shortages.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Drought-hit_China_to_divert_waters_from_two_longes

[Sally Furniss]

Re: China Declares Emergency over Drought

China's artificially induced snow closes 12 highways

Thu Feb 19, 2009




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BEIJING (Reuters) - China closed 12 highways around the capital Beijing on Thursday because of heavy snow brought on after seeding clouds with chemicals, state media said on Thursday.


All outbound highways were closed in Hebei, the drought-hit northern province surrounding Beijing, after heavy snow fell on Wednesday night, Xinhua news agency said.


In all, 12 highways, including one linking Beijing and Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning province, were closed.


Hebei got its first heavy snow of this year on Wednesday. The provincial weather bureau said that snow too was "enhanced" by artificial seeding.


"The snow has brought moisture to the soil, which may help end the drought," Guo Yingchun, a senior engineer of the provincial meteorological observatory, was quoted as saying.

She said that 313 cigarette-size sticks of silver iodide were fired into the clouds from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, "a procedure that made the snow a lot heavier."


Hebei forecasters said flurries would continue through Thursday night in the northern part of the province.


Beijing is enduring its longest drought in 38 years, according to weather bureau records.


(Reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE51I10X20090219