China’s rivers are drying up, as worst drought on record affects millions

Cape Town - China’s rivers are drying up as it suffers its worst drought on record, and soaring temperatures dry up key parts of the Yangtze River.

A severe drought since June had affected more than 5.7 million people in central China's Hubei Province as of Friday, according to the provincial emergency management department, citing a Xinhua news report.

The dire conditions are damaging crops and limiting drinking water supplies in some central and southern communities.

As of 3pm on Friday, drought conditions triggered by sustained hot weather and low precipitation had impacted 84 county-level areas in China's Hubei Province, according to local media.

Video shows a tributary of China’s most important river, the Yangtze, almost completely dried up amid an unprecedented drought across southwestern China.

Weather modification programmes are being launched to try to replenish the basin ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/IxppBLDFQK

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) August 20, 2022

Data from China's Water Resources Ministry shows that the water supply of 830 000 people in six provinces and regions has been affected.

Meanwhile, rivers in multiple provinces and regions across China have dried up due to persistent high temperatures and far below average amounts of rainfall, resulting in drought in many parts of the nation, reports the Global Times.

Chinese authorities say that the provincial emergency management department has also dispatched working groups to affected areas to guide local drought relief efforts.

Climate Change in Africa

Millions of people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are going hungry and forced to take desperate measures to survive, as the Horn of Africa region experiences one of its worst droughts in recent years following three consecutive poor rainy seasons.

Qu Guangzhou, director of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in New York, warned that between 12 and 40 million people are projected to face high acute food insecurity across the three countries in the middle of this year if urgent action is not taken, according to China Daily.

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