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Drought crippling southwest China, millions without drinking water Jeremy Hance mongabay.com March 22, 2010 Since last autumn many regions have received only half their usual rainfall. The nation expects that nearly a million hectares will not produce crops due to the drought, while some rivers have dried up completely. China has sent more than 50 million US dollars to the impacted regions and 4,000 troops to aid drought-victims, especially with water supplies. China has also initiated hundreds of cloud-seeding operations in an effort to force rain in the regions, reports the AFP. Last June, He Lifu, of China's National Meteorological Center told the China Daily that he expected increases in extreme weather across China. "Extreme weather will be more frequent in the future due to the instability of the atmosphere, and global warming might be the indirect cause," Lifu said, adding that extreme weather events, such as droughts, had increased in severity and frequency since the 1990s in China. While scientists say that it is not possible to link a single extreme weather-event to climate change—such as one drought—a pattern of increasing and worsening droughts in many parts of the world is expected under climate change scenarios. According to state meteorologists, the drought is the worst some places have seen in a century. Related articles Chinese farming practices are acidifying soils (02/11/2010) A new study in Science shows that farming practices in China are acidifying the nation's soils and threatening long term productivity at a time when food concerns worldwide have never been higher. The culprit is the increasing use of nitrogen fertilizer. China is polluted: first national survey paints disturbing picture (02/09/2010) The first ever national survey of pollution in China shows a nation that has paid for its economic growth in environmental pollution. Chinese official links extreme snowstorm to global warming (01/05/2010) Bitter cold and snow have shut down Beijing after it received 4-8 inches (10-20 centimeters) of snow on Sunday, the largest snowfall since 1951, according to the Sydney Morning Hearld. Guo Hu, the head of the Beijing Meteorological Bureau linked the storm to global climate change.
Tags: china China's Environmental Problems water drought precipitation asia jeremy hance environment climate change impact of climate change disasters governance awayten Environmental news index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home Advertisements:
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