A major drought is affecting more than 600,000 people and 2 million acres of land in Hubei and Henan provinces in central China. Many small reservoirs are so low that water would have to be pumped from them, and 400 million cubic meters of water have been discharged from the Three Gorges Dam. GR
Category: Asia
Natural Causes Drove Russian Heat Wave, Study Finds
Remember the heat wave in Russia last summer that destroyed a third of the country’s wheat crop? NOAA studied the 1000-year event and concluded it was due to a blocking pattern of high pressure that prevented cooling storms from the west. By 2060, such heat waves could happen every decade. GR
Fears of wheat crisis in China recede as drought eases
One crisis averted. A month ago northern China’s wheat crop faced a serious drought, causing FAO to issue a special alert, and much alarm that Chinese imports would raise already high wheat prices. Now most of the crop seems to have been saved by rain, snow, and a massive irrigation effort. GR
Indonesia to boost rice stocks amid global food fears
This article from Yahoo News surveys Asia’s rice stocks, imports, and prices. Sparked by widespread droughts, floods, and the increased use of crops for fuel, food prices have risen markedly this year, which has led to governmental fears about inflation, social unrest, and stable economic growth. GR
U.N. food agency issues warning on China drought
China’s drought, reported on recently, is bad enough for the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to ussue an alert. Major agricultural regions face their worst drought in 60 years; Shandong Province the worst in 200 years. Twelve million acres are affected, and 2.75 million people. GR
