Regions that depend on the Yangtze River, the longest river in the China, are having to use bombs and rockets to form clouds, amid a long drought that is depleting water levels and threatening crops, and a heat wave expected to last another two weeks.
The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze have seen temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius last month, with experts blaming climate change-induced variations on the subtropical highs of the Western Pacific, a major determinant of summer weather across East Asia.
With the harvest threatened, the Ministry of Agriculture sent 25 teams to key regions to take measures to protect crops, the Shanghai government's Guangming Daily reported.
The heat wave is expected to last another two weeks, making it the longest sustained period of extreme temperatures since records began in 1961, experts from China's National Climate Center told the official Science and Technology Daily on Monday.
Rainfall in the Yangtze drainage area fell by about 30% in July and is 60% below normal in August, with the river's tributaries "significantly lower" than historic levels, according to the Water Resources Commission of the Yangtze River.
Sources: investing.com
