Cloud seeding: China turns to artificial rainfall to combat drought amid record heatwave

 

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 Cloud seeding operations are being carried out across China to quench the lands suffering from drought. In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and the provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou, unmanned aerial vehicles conducted cloud seeding operations in the sky and workers on the ground shot cloud-seeding rods in an effort to create artificial rainfall. [CGTV]
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1. China Heatwave: Hottest summer since 1961 continues in China
China is still in the grips of its strongest heatwave since 1961, and experts warn that this bout of extreme heat could have a lasting effect on food production even after it abates. Sun Ye has the details.

Unbearable heat rages in China stretching from the western regions all the way to its coastal provinces. The country has been on its highest weather alert level for more than 10 days now as it struggles with the most intense and wide-spread heatwave it's seen in more than six decades.

The heat has put a strain on the power-grid. And in Chongqing, some rice paddies are ripening up earlier than usual.

Experts say this summer heat has already posed some serious challenges to the country's staple foods.
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2. China says heatwave poses ‘serious threat’ to autumn crops

 China’s long heatwave and drought is posing a “serious threat” to the country’s autumn crops and everything possible should be done to try to expand water availability, the agriculture ministry said in a notice posted on Tuesday.

The notice called on local authorities to “dynamically adjust” scheduling plans and make good use of water to guarantee supplies during a critical period for the autumn harvest.

3. China is mining and importing more coal as its worst heatwave and drought in six decades hits hydroelectricity, the nation's second biggest source of power.

The country's crucial Yangtze River has dried up in parts because of extreme heat and scant rainfall. The drought has impacted six provinces along the river, affecting the water supply for tens of thousands of people and forcing the closure of factories in some provinces to preserve electricity supplies.