China wary of ripple effects as power-producer provinces combat drought
- The southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, China’s major producers of hydroelectric power, have been contending with drought
- Dry spell threatens more than just agriculture, as memories of recent blackouts loom large and conditions could stunt aluminium sector
China’s Ministry of Water Resources has marshalled resources for a large-scale drought response in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan while advising other regions to monitor their situations closely, raising worries over the impact of extreme weather on this year’s grain, hydropower and aluminium production.
As part of its level four emergency protocols – the lowest in its four-tier system – the ministry will send a working group to the provinces to guide relief work, and has asked other grain-producing regions to prepare for possible dry periods in advance.
“The drought may continue to develop as spring rainfall in the region is relatively low and water storage is also gradually decreasing,” the ministry warned in a statement on Friday. “The temperature is rising rapidly and water consumption is also increasing for spring farming.”
“The drought will impact this year’s agricultural production as it coincides with the spring ploughing season across China, but the extent of its impact on food production will depend on how well local governments respond to drought,” said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform.
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El Nino is here, and it’s quite worrying, according to climate scientists
China is likely to experience an even hotter year with more frequent extreme weather as El Nino continues, Zhou Bing, chief expert at China’s National Climate Centre, told state media outlet CCTV last December.
