May 30, 2011
China drought affects 35 million people
BEIJING, The months-long drought along China's Yangtze River has affected 35 million people and the economic loss so far stands at $2.3 billion, officials said Monday.
No immediate relief was in sight as the National Meteorological Center said the dry weather was expected to continue over the next few days in provinces and municipalities in the area, China Daily reported.
Photographs showed fishing boats stranded on grassland, once the bed of Poyang Lake -- China's largest fresh water lake in eastern Jiangxi province.
Since early January, precipitation in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces has been about 40 percent to 60 percent less than the same period last year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The report said the Dongting Lake in Hunan province is also drying up dramatically.
Of the total number affected by the drought, about 4.23 million people were experiencing difficulties in finding drinking water and 5.06 million were in need of assistance, the report said.
The drought has also affected 1.07 million head of cattle and 9.1 million acres of crops.
The soaring prices of vegetables are adding to the country's already high inflation, which was expected to reach a new high in May.
Authorities have ordered the Three Gorges Dam spanning the Yangtze River to discharge more water to the drought-hit provinces.
The drought has been described as the worst since 1954. Experts said extensive cultivation and poor water conservancy also are contributing to the problem.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/30/China-drought-affects-35-million-people/UPI-97071306753772/#ixzz1Nqgrc7l7
China drought affects 35 million people
BEIJING, The months-long drought along China's Yangtze River has affected 35 million people and the economic loss so far stands at $2.3 billion, officials said Monday.
No immediate relief was in sight as the National Meteorological Center said the dry weather was expected to continue over the next few days in provinces and municipalities in the area, China Daily reported.
Photographs showed fishing boats stranded on grassland, once the bed of Poyang Lake -- China's largest fresh water lake in eastern Jiangxi province.
Since early January, precipitation in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces has been about 40 percent to 60 percent less than the same period last year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The report said the Dongting Lake in Hunan province is also drying up dramatically.
Of the total number affected by the drought, about 4.23 million people were experiencing difficulties in finding drinking water and 5.06 million were in need of assistance, the report said.
The drought has also affected 1.07 million head of cattle and 9.1 million acres of crops.
The soaring prices of vegetables are adding to the country's already high inflation, which was expected to reach a new high in May.
Authorities have ordered the Three Gorges Dam spanning the Yangtze River to discharge more water to the drought-hit provinces.
The drought has been described as the worst since 1954. Experts said extensive cultivation and poor water conservancy also are contributing to the problem.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/30/China-drought-affects-35-million-people/UPI-97071306753772/#ixzz1Nqgrc7l7
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng ( /ˈjæŋt.si/ or /ˈjɑːŋt.si/; [jǎŋtsɯ́]) is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world.
It flows for 6,418 kilometres (3,988 mi) from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai.
The Yangtze drains one-fifth of China's land area and its river basin is home to one-third of China's population.[6]
Along with the Yellow River, the Yangtze is the most important river in the history, culture and economy of China.
The river is an important physical and cultural dividing line between North and South China. Chinese living north of the Yangtze speak varying dialects of Mandarin.
Most of the provinces south of the river have native Sinitic languages that are unintelligible to Mandarin-speakers. The Yangtze River flows through a wide array of ecosystems and is itself habitat to several endemic and endangered species including the Yangtze River dolphin (now extinct), Chinese alligator, and the Yangtze sturgeon. For thousands of years, man has used the river for water, irrigation, sanitation, transportation, industry, boundary-marking and war.
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world.[7][8] In recent years, the river has suffered from industrial pollution, agricultural run-off, siltation, and loss of wetland and lakes, which exacerbates seasonal flooding. Some sections of the river are now protected as nature reserves.
A stretch of the Yangtze flowing through deep gorges in western Yunnan is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
