Category Archives: Drought

China issues alert as drought and heatwave put crops at risk

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Local authorities told to take measures and ‘use every unit of water carefully’ in effort to save autumn harvest

A drought in China is threatening food production, prompting the government to order local authorities to take all available measures to ensure crops survive the hottest summer on record.

On Tuesday, four government departments issued an urgent joint emergency notice, warning that the autumn harvest was under “severe threat”. It urged local authorities to ensure “every unit of water … be used carefully”, and called for methods included staggered irrigation, the diversion of new water sources, and cloud seeding.

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Flash floods wreak havoc in US south-west – but are no salve for drought

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Climate experts warn temporary increases in water levels will not mitigate a crisis that has been years in the making

Flash floods hitting the American south-west in recent days have shuttered parts of national parks including in Moab and Zion, closed highways in Colorado, submerged cars in Texas and trapped tourists in a New Mexico cave. A young woman remains missing after being swept away while hiking in Zion on Friday.

But the destructive deluges have not been enough to relieve the drought and the continued pressure on water resources, experts say. Even strong storms are unable to overcome dry conditions that are decades in the making.

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Hunger stones, wrecks and bones: Europe’s drought brings past to surface

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Receding rivers and lakes have exposed ghost villages, a Nazi tank and a Roman fort

The warning could not be starker. Wenn du mich siehst, dann weine (“If you see me, then weep”), reads the grim inscription on a rock in the Elbe River near the northern Czech town of Děčín, close to the German border.

As Europe’s rivers run dry in a devastating drought that scientists say could prove the worst in 500 years, their receding waters are revealing long-hidden artefacts, from Roman camps to ghost villages and second world war shipwrecks.

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China deploys cloud-seeding planes and cuts electricity use as record heatwave takes toll

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China battling its longest heatwave on record, with energy-intensive industries suspended and dams opened to boost flagging hydropower

China is scrambling to alleviate power shortages and bring more water to the drought-hit basin of the Yangtze river as it battles a record-breaking heatwave by seeding clouds, deploying relief funds and developing new sources of supply.

For more than two months, baking temperatures have disrupted crop growth, threatened livestock and forced industries in the hydropower-dependent regions of the south-west to shut down to ensure electricity supplies for homes.

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Traffic builds up along Rhine after vessel’s engine failure

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German authorities say buildup on river not caused by water levels despite record lows caused by drought

About 20 ships were stuck in traffic along Germany’s Rhine River after a vessel’s engine failure temporarily closed part of the waterway.

A ship with a 1,660-ton load was forced to drop anchor due to an engine failure, closing traffic between Sankt Goar and Oberwesel, river police said.

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Anger in Germany over Rhine firework display taking place despite drought

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Opponents furious about fire risk and water waste as river risks becoming unnavigable

Organisers of the “Rhine in Flames” firework displays have come under heavy criticism for staging the event during this summer’s drought, as water levels in the river continue to drop.

The annual event has become a flashpoint, with climate campaigners and others furious about the fire risk and waste of precious water as the Rhine risks becoming unnavigable.

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As drought hits, what are UK water company chief executives paid?

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Anger is growing over the huge sums handed to shareholders and executives

Britain’s biggest water companies have come under the spotlight as the nation swelters during what could become the worst drought in 500 years, with hosepipe bans introduced across much of England in an attempt to fend off shortages.

Anger is growing over the huge sums handed to their shareholders and executives, given the companies’ record on tackling leaks and pollution and their failure to build more reservoirs. Politicians and campaigners are now calling for water company bosses to have their bonuses banned until they tackle these issues.

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England ‘failing to invest in water networks to avoid future droughts’

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Government policy amounts to ‘keeping fingers crossed’ rather than acting to adapt to changing climate, says infrastructure chief

England is failing to invest in the water networks needed to avoid a future of recurrent serious droughts, with current policies amounting to the government “keeping [its] fingers crossed”, the UK’s infrastructure chief has warned.

The current drought was a warning that water systems could not cope with the changing climate, with more hot dry spells interspersed with heavier rainfall, said Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission.

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Build an ark and ditch the pots: how to save your garden in a drought

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As official drought is declared in parts of England, here are some measures to preserve and future-proof gardens

With British gardens facing record temperatures, drought and hosepipe bans, it’s time for emergency measures. It’s particularly important because during drought, additional mains water is drawn from wild sources, affecting struggling wildlife. Here are some of the things you can do.

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Europe’s rivers run dry as scientists warn drought could be worst in 500 years

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Crops, power plants, barge traffic, industry and fish populations devastated by parched waterways

In places, the Loire can now be crossed on foot; France’s longest river has never flowed so slowly. The Rhine is fast becoming impassable to barge traffic. In Italy, the Po is 2 metres lower than normal, crippling crops. Serbia is dredging the Danube.

Across Europe, drought is reducing once-mighty rivers to trickles, with potentially dramatic consequences for industry, freight, energy and food production – just as supply shortages and price rises due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine bite.

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Production of French salers cheese halted due to drought

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Farmers in Auvergne despair as cows cannot be fed on grass left parched by hot summer

Traditional cheese has become the latest casualty of France’s summer drought, as production of the salers variety in the central Auvergne region was halted due to a lack of grass for cows.

Salers is an unpasteurised cow’s cheese that has been made for centuries in central France. It carries France’s appellation d’origine protégée (AOP) stamp of approval, meaning it is unique to the small area where it is produced.

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Weather tracker: deadly floods in South Korea and drought in China

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While Seoul experienced torrential downpours, rainfall levels are down in China’s Yangtse River basin

Extreme flooding in South Korea this week submerged streets, cars and buildings, as torrential downpours brought more than a month’s worth of rainfall in the space of a few days. Between Monday and Wednesday a cumulative total of 525mm – a little over 20 inches – was recorded in Seoul.

At least nine people are confirmed to have died from the floods and many more are reported injured or missing. High rainfall rates and flooding during the monsoon season in South Korea is common, with average rainfall of up to 10mm a day and 250mm in the month of August. However, this week rainfall accumulations far exceeded these typical conditions.

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Thousands evacuated as smouldering French wildfire reignites

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High temperatures and drought in the wine-growing region of Gironde force partial closure of motorway

About 10,000 people have been evacuated to save them from wildfires in the Gironde region of south-west France after a massive blaze that destroyed more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of pine forest in July sparked up again and tore through woodland.

“The fire is rampant and has now spread to the Landes départment,” local authorities in the wine-growing départment said. The French government doubled the number of firefighters to 1,000 on Wednesday afternoon, supported by planes dropping water.

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National Trust tells of bats in distress and water features drying up in heat

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Charity says extreme conditions a ‘watershed moment’ and it is planning for long-term hot weather

The National Trust has reported significant effects across its estate from the recent extreme heat including bats in distress, heather struggling to flower and historic water features drying up.

At Wallington in Northumberland, bats were found disoriented and dehydrated in the daylight during the hottest days this summer, while in Cambridgeshire, a waterwheel that powers a flour mill has had to stop turning due to low river levels.

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Yet more human remains found as drought shrinks Lake Mead reservoir

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Fourth set of skeletal remains, as yet unidentified, discovered at Swim Beach in Nevada as lake hits lowest level in 80 years

A fourth set of human remains has been found at the shrinking reservoir of Lake Mead as the drought gripping the western US continues to blaze and sends its water levels plunging.

The fourth set of skeletal remains was found on Saturday at Swim Beach in Nevada, and are now being assessed by the local Clark county coroner. The identity of the body is unknown, nor the manner of death.

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Low water levels mean Rhine is days from being shut for cargo

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Businesses along the river say drought means they are on the verge of having to shut production

Germany’s Rhine, one of Europe’s key waterways, is just days away from being closed to commercial traffic because of very low levels caused by drought, authorities and industry have warned.

Crucially, the impending crisis could lead energy companies to cut their output, one of the country’s biggest gas companies has said.

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Blooming Essex garden points to future of horticulture in a heating UK

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RHS Hyde Hall has made a virtue of its position in the driest county in England by embracing adaptable plants

It has not been artificially watered for 22 years, yet this garden, on an exposed slope in Essex, the driest county in the UK, is bursting with bloom.

A dry bed at the Royal Horticultural Society Hyde Hall dominated by cool greys and pale greens, and full of Mediterranean, Australian and African shrubs and flowers, could this be the future British garden?

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Northern Italy drought threatens olive oil, risotto rice and passata supplies

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The region’s worst drought in 70 years is expected to hit crop yields significantly, driving up prices by as much as 50%

Supplies of olive oil, risotto rice and passata are under threat as northern Italy suffers its worst drought in 70 years, stirring up the cost of living crisis further.

Specialist importers are preparing for price rises of as much as 50% or more for rice and tomatoes and are considering looking for new sources of supply, after growers in the Po valley, the home of arborio rice used in risotto, warned of a “significant reduction” in crop yields this year.

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Back from the depths: shrinking Lake Mead reveals second world war-era boat

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The Higgins landing craft, once 185ft below the surface, is now halfway out of the water as drought deepens

A sunken boat dating back to the second world war is the latest object to emerge from a shrinking reservoir that straddles Nevada and Arizona.

The Higgins landing craft that has long been 185ft (56 meters) below the surface is now nearly halfway out of the water at Lake Mead.

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Brand new bang: Lake Tahoe resort scraps July 4 fireworks for drones

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Pyrotechnic displays pose a heightened fire risk in a time of intense drought and cause distress to wild animals

Lake Tahoe’s north shore is breaking with tradition and will replace its Fourth of July fireworks celebration with a colorful light display of an entirely different nature.

The tourist town on the Nevada side of the storied lake will offer a night-time drone light show, a display officials at the Incline Village Crystal Bay visitors bureau said carries less danger in a parched landscape primed to burn.

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