Chinese authorities have decided to use chemicals to create rain to protect crops from drought.
This is reported by the Associated Press.
This year, the country experienced the hottest and driest summer in 61 years of observations. In the province of Sichuan, factories were closed last week to save electricity for households — the demand for air conditioners increased sharply, as the temperature reached 45 °C (113 °F). The authorities also said that 819 000 people in their province are experiencing a shortage of drinking water.
On August 20, the Hubei government declared a state of emergency due to the drought and announced that it would provide aid in the event of a natural disaster.
Because of the heat, the crops withered, and the reservoirs were reduced to half their normal level. So the countryʼs authorities ventured into emergency measures to "secure the autumn grain harvest", which accounts for 75% of the total annual harvest in China.
The Chinese will try to increase rainfall by seeding clouds with chemicals and spraying crops with a water-retaining agent to limit evaporation.
If it is not possible to save the grain harvest in China, the demand for imports will increase. And this, in turn, can increase inflation in the US and Europe.
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- At the beginning of August in Iraq, due to abnormal heat, civil servants were given days off — in some areas of the country, the temperature rose above +50 °C (122 °F).
- In Europe, 660 000 hectares of forest burned down due to abnormal heat and drought. This is the highest figure since 2006, when the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) recorded such data.