China plans cloud seeding to protect grain crop amid drought

Chongqing, Aug. 21 (BNA): China said it would try to protect its grain crop from record drought by using rain-generating chemicals, while factories in the southwest waited Sunday to see if they would shut down for another week due to water shortages for hydropower.

The hottest and driest summer since Chinese records began 61 years ago has caused crops to wither, leaving reservoirs at half the normal water level. The Associated Press (AP) reported that factories in Sichuan province were closed last week to provide power to homes as demand for air conditioners surged, with temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).

According to the Global Times, Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian said the next 10 days is a “key period for damage resistance” for the rice crop in southern China.

Tang said Friday, the authorities will take emergency steps to “ensure the autumn harvest of grain,” which is 75% of China’s annual total.

Tang’s ministry said on its website that authorities would “try to increase rainfall” by seeding clouds with chemicals and spraying crops with a “water-retaining agent” to reduce evaporation. No details were given of where to do so.

The turmoil adds to the challenges facing the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to prop up sluggish economic growth ahead of a meeting in October or November where President Xi Jinping is expected to try to grant himself a third five-year term as leader.

Reducing China’s grain yield will have a potential global impact. It would boost import demand, adding to upward pressure on inflation in the United States and Europe that has reached multi-decade highs.

Also on Sunday, thousands of factories in Sichuan province that make solar panels, processor chips and other industrial goods waited if the six-day shutdown last week would be extended.

A document circulated on social media and said it was from the Sichuan Information Industry and Economics Administration said the lockdown would be extended until Thursday, but there was no official confirmation.

Phone calls to the economic agency and the county government were not answered. Said a woman who answered the phone at the Sichuan branch of State Grid Ltd. She did not see any notice of the extension of the closure. She did not reveal her name.

The governments of Sichuan and neighboring Hubei Province say thousands of hectares of crops are a complete loss and millions have been affected.

The Hubei government declared a drought emergency on Saturday and said it would release disaster aid. The Sichuan government said 819,000 people face a shortage of drinking water.

Sichuan has been hardest hit by the drought because it gets 80% of its energy from hydroelectric dams. The county government says the reservoirs are at half normal water levels. It earlier called on manufacturers to “leave power to the people”.

Offices and shopping malls in Sichuan have been ordered to turn off the lights and air conditioning. The subway in Chengdu, the provincial capital, said it had turned off thousands of lights at stations.

Meanwhile, other regions suffered deadly floods.

The floods in northwest China’s Qinghai Province have killed at least 25 people, with eight missing, Xinhua news agency reported, citing local authorities.

Late Thursday, landslides and river floods hit six villages in Datong County, Qinghai, the report said. About 1,500 people were forced to leave their homes.

HF