Drying rivers, sweltering heat and power cuts in parts of China are severely disrupting factory operations and threatening crop yields, making the country’s economy worse. The rest of the world is currently grappling with extreme weather.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, some parts of China are experiencing the worst heat in 60 years, with temperatures reaching as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in many parts of the central and southwest. The China Meteorological Administration predicts that the hot weather in the south may continue for another two weeks.
The high temperature also coincided with the drought. According to data released by China’s Ministry of Water Resources on Monday, since July, rainfall in the Yangtze River Basin has been 40% lower than the same period last year, the lowest since 1961, and the water level in the main stream of the Yangtze River is the lowest since the measured record. Soaring temperatures have driven demand for air-conditioning and overloaded the grid. The Yangtze River is an important source of water for hydroelectric power generation, transportation and crop irrigation.
On Monday, according to The Wall Street Journal (The…