An unprecedented wave of drought and heat has come to grip more than half of China’s vast territory, from the snow-capped mountains of Tibet to the eastern coasts.
Many major cities recorded the hottest days in their history, and due to a lack of precipitation, many rivers dried up.
These weather conditions are damaging crops and weakening the power grid as millions of residents turn on air conditioners.
Among the hottest Chinese cities in recent days is Chongqing Province in southwest China, where 31 million people live.
China is witnessing the hottest summer since the beginning of meteorological records more than 60 years ago, and experts believe that the reason behind this is climate changes, the effects of which have evolved greatly in recent times, and also resulted in the drying up of rivers that feed water dams, which makes the authorities forced to ration electricity. locally.
This heat wave represents a challenge to agriculture, in a country that suffers even in normal times from a shortage of arable land.
Drought is a particular problem for rice and soybean crops, which are water-intensive.
The government has decided to spend 10 billion yuan (about 1.5 billion euros) to support farmers in facing drought.
