Yahoo Finance China’s Weather Extremes Threaten Crops With Flooding and Heat
(Bloomberg) -- China’s farmers are continuing to grapple with extreme weather from flooding to drought, threatening crops including rice and placing pressure on the nation’s leaders who are promoting food security.
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Heavy rain has soaked vast areas of the country over the past week, forcing the China Meteorological Agency to issue a series of alerts, and more precipitation is expected along the Yangtze river. Some parts of northeastern Guangxi could get as much as 150 millimeters (5.9 inches) into Wednesday.
China’s top rice growing regions — Jiangxi and Hunan — are facing more rain and flooding, while corn and cotton crops are also at risk. On the flipside, hotter temperatures are forecast across the south of the country later this week, which could also disrupt rice output, the weather bureau said.
Extreme weather has hit various parts of the world, from high temperatures in Egypt, drought in Morocco to a very active Atlantic Hurricane season. China has grappled with dry conditions in the north that’s damaged its wheat harvest and delayed planting of corn and soybeans. Other regions have been drenched, flooding some fields and spurring growth of crops diseases.
Local authorities in China’s south affected by flooding should drain fields in a timely manner and plant alternative crops in those destroyed by heavy rain, according to the agriculture ministry. In the north, agencies should help farmers replant crops in drought-hit regions.
Disaster mitigation and relief is the most urgent task for the sector, because it’s the key period to secure fall grain output, Han Jun, the newly appointed party chief of the agriculture ministry, said at a meeting on Monday. Drought and flooding remain a complicated situation, he added.
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