Last Update: June 04, 2023, 11:05 AM IST
A boatman repairs his boat on a dry riverbed of the Jialing River that flows alongside Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, August 25, 2006. (Credits: Reuters)
Pigs, rabbits and fish are dying from scorching temperatures while heavy rains flood wheat fields in central China
China, which is currently witnessing record temperatures and heavy rains, is reporting animal and fish die-offs due to the extreme weather conditions.
China is facing severe heat and drought in many parts of the country, raising concerns about food security in the world’s second largest economy.
Pigs, rabbits and fish are dying from rising temperatures, CNN reported, while wheat fields in central China have been hit by the heaviest rain in a decade.
Local reports said hundreds of pigs died this week at a farm in eastern Jiangsu province after a power failure caused fans to stop working at night. The report said that the pigs died due to extreme heat and poor air circulation.
Extreme cold in Finland 🇫🇮 provisionally breaks national June cold record while persistent heat breaks countless records in China 🇨🇳 Special mention to Dongchuan, China where it was +42.2 °C (108 °F) at 1250 meters above sea level Reached
A little thread… pic.twitter.com/W03ElPoUII
— Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) June 1, 2023
The heat wave has also been blamed for killing large areas of farm carp living in rice fields in the southwestern region of Guangxi. Officials are also concerned that the Yangtze River basin, China’s main rice-growing region, could be hit by drought in the coming months.
“Extreme weather such as droughts and floods can disrupt food production cycles and bring greater uncertainty in the supply of food and oil,” Sheng Jia, an agricultural analyst, said in a research report.
The prices of rabbit heads, a signature dish in Sichuan, have also risen in recent days as record temperatures have killed rabbits in the fields.
Reuters reported that in the coming days, temperatures are expected to exceed 35 °C in most parts of southern China, while some areas could exceed 40 °C.
Since March, temperatures in dozens of Chinese cities have reached record seasonal highs. Most recently, Shanghai endured its hottest day in May in more than a century on Monday, while provinces in the south brought little respite from heat waves.
Yunnan and Sichuan provinces also recorded record-breaking temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.
Amidst rising temperatures, El Nino phenomena can cause climate uncertainty and lead to floods in the south and drought in the north and cooler summers in the northeast.
Heavy rains lashed wheat fields in Henan province in the last week of May, just days before harvest time, which accounts for a quarter of China’s production.
The rain caused some grain crops to sprout or become moldy. Some farmers’ yields for the whole year accounted for 20% of the crop wasted.
After last year’s extreme heat and drought, Beijing has turned its attention to food security. In March, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said agriculture is the foundation of national security.
Extreme heat and humidity are on the rise around the world, threatening the lives and economies of millions of people in places where working outside can be fatal, scientists have said.
