CHINA HEATWAVE HIGHLIGHTS ECONOMIC DAMAGE WROUGHT BY GLOBAL WARMING

The Chinese capital has been hit by record temperatures, flash floods and droughts this summer, making the country the most climatically vulnerable place with an increasing frequency of natural disasters and declining air quality in its industrial centre, The Financial Post, a US-based publication, reported. 

China is suffering from its worst heat wave in decades, which has strained its power supply. In various regions of China, citizens have witnessed record-breaking heat waves amid severe droughts. Scorching temperatures have disrupted crop growth and are threatening livestock. Besides, the temperatures soared in the range of 39-42 degrees Celsius in eastern Zhejiang province and the cities of Shanghai (China’s central coast), Jianxi (southern China) and Fujian (south-eastern China). The drought has already affected mid-season rice and summer corn in some southern regions. The Chinese Ministry of Water Resources has estimated that rainfall in the Yangtze River basin has declined by roughly 45 per cent compared to the average in recent years, and as many as 66 rivers across 34 counties in the southwestern region of Chongqing have dried up. 

With a reduction in rainfall, water levels in hydroelectric power reservoirs have dropped, curtailing energy production. Even the factories have to suffer due to these extreme conditions. 

In the Sichuan province, which has 94 million people, all factories were ordered in mid-August to shut down for six days in an effort to ease power shortages in the region.