Chinese workers dig deep to keep crops watered after drought hits biggest lake

Due to the drought, water levels in China’s largest freshwater lake have dropped to record lows, and workers are digging trenches to keep water flowing to irrigate crops.

The water coverage of Poyang Lake in central Jiangxi has dropped sharply
Otherwise, irrigation channels to adjacent farmland in one of China’s main rice-producing regions will be cut off.

Crews using excavators to dig trenches can only work after dark due to the high temperature during the day, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

High temperatures sparked wildfires that forced the evacuation of 1,500 people in southwest China, and factories slashed output as hydropower plants cut output amid drought conditions.

Drought and heat have shrunk crops, shrinking rivers such as the Yangtze, disrupting the movement of goods and reducing power output.

Influenced by China’s major rivers, Poyang Lake averages about 1,400 square miles in peak season, but has shrunk to just 285 square miles in the recent drought.

Large swathes of western and central China experienced an earlier-than-usual and longer-lasting summer heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

In Chongqing, the hardest-hit area, department stores have postponed their business hours to 4 p.m.resident
Always seeking respite from the summer heat in a WWII-era bomb shelter.

This mirrors what is happening in Europe and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, where high temperatures are taking their toll on public health, food production and the environment in general.