NANCHANG, Aug 23(ABC): Three kilometers of piping winds through the mountains, carrying water up to the hillside Dougang village. Nie Xiaolong, standing with his hands on his hips near the end of the pipe, felt relieved seeing water diverted into his paddies. Not long ago, Nie, 42, was worried about the 200 hectares of crops he manages in Ruichang City, east China’s Jiangxi Province due to a drought triggered by sustained hot weather and low precipitation lasting several weeks.
“I thought I might not be able to make it,” said Nie. “Thanks to the local government’s help to install water pumps and lay the pipes, my crops have been saved.” Heatwaves have swept across many parts of China this summer. China’s National Meteorological Center continued to issue a red alert for high temperatures, the most severe warning in China’s four-tier color-coded weather warning system, on Monday, the 11th consecutive day.
Facing shortages of water and power supplies in drought-affected regions, governments of all levels in China have stepped up efforts to combat drought and ensure normal production and people’s livelihoods. ENSURING FARMLAND IRRIGATION Jiangxi is home to Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake. On Aug. 6, the lake officially entered this year’s dry season, the earliest date since records started in 1951 and 69 days earlier than the average starting date between 2003 and 2021. As of 8 a.m. Monday, the lake’s water area totaled 575 square km, 2,475 square km less than that of previous years, according to the Jiangxi provincial water resources department.