China's Xinjiang province warned on Saturday of flash floods and landslides as well as risks to agriculture as heatwaves swept through the region, accelerating the rate of ice melt and posing risks to agricultural products. cotton production in this country.
China has been hit by above-normal summer heat since June, with some meteorologists blaming climate change. Extreme hot weather has increased the demand for electricity to cool homes, offices and factories. In agricultural areas, drought is a concern. Chen Chunyan, chief expert of the Xinjiang Meteorological Observatory, told state media that the latest
heatwaves in Xinjiang were particularly prolonged and widespread.
She said extreme weather conditions in the south and east of the region, more than twice the size of France, had lasted about 10 days.
The Xinjiang Meteorological Bureau extended its red alert for the region - the highest in a three-level heat warning system - on Saturday, predicting temperatures in Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu and Bazhou could exceed 40C in next 24 hours.
"Continuously high temperatures have accelerated the melting of glaciers in mountainous areas and caused natural disasters such as flash floods, landslides and landslides in many places," Chen said.
The China Meteorological Administration said a day earlier that melting ice in Xinjiang had a high risk of causing a dam failure on a tributary of the Aksu River near the China-Kyrgyz border.
Primarily known for its deserts, Xinjiang is also home to long mountain ranges along its borders, including the Tian Shan Mountains, the Pamirs, the Kunlun Mountains, and the Karakoram Mountains, which are increasingly becoming popular with Chinese tourists amid COVID-19 international restrictions on flights. traveling.
The temperature in the oasis town of Turpan reached 45.8 degrees Celsius at 5 pm.
Such heat waves can also affect crops, especially cotton, Chen said.
Xinjiang produces about 20% of the world's cotton, a thirsty crop.
The latest heat wave has affected several provinces. As of 5 p.m., 84 red warnings were in effect across China, mainly in Xinjiang and the manufacturing provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian.
The temperature in Taizhou City, Zhejiang, hit an all-time high of 43°C on Saturday.
"The hot weather is expected to continue [Sunday] and into the next day," state media quoted the Taizhou Meteorological Bureau as saying.
Read more: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/Xinjiang-cotton-crop-at-risk-of-flooding-caused-by-extreme-weather
