Beijing 7th September : China recorded its highest temperatures and one of its lowest levels of rainfall in the past 61 years during an intense summer heatwave lasting two months which caused forest fires and damaged crops, as well as a blow to power supply, the country’s meteorological agency stated, The Guardian reported.The average temperature of the country in August, 22.4C, was 1.2C more than the norm for the season and the average rainfall dropped 23 percent to 82 millimetres.This was the third-lowest since records started in 1961 according to Xiao Chan, vice-director of China’s national meteorological agency.
He reported to journalists that 267 stations in China recorded the most extreme temperatures in the history of the country last month.
The heatwave that lasted from mid-June until the final day of August was “most intense” since records started in regards of duration magnitude, intensity, and impact, according to Xiao.
The extreme temperature has caused massive drought in regions along the Yangtze River, south-western China as well as central and east Tibet, The Guardian reported.
The continuous drought and heat caused forest fires, which impacted agriculture’s production, water resources , and the power grid, Xiao said.The Yangtze is the third-largest river, providing drinking water to over 400 million Chinese people and is the main waterway for China’s economy.
Meanwhile, severe storms swept through diverse regions including southern and northern China.Lightning powerful winds and hail affected 13 provinces and regions including Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, in August.
The agency announced that it had issued 65,000 weather warnings, most of them for extreme heat in August, which is 26 percent more than the same month in 2013, The Guardian reported.
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