Chinese drought affects millions
World Prout Assembly has posted more than 100 articles on water issues. As well, we have posted articles giving the solution to drought. Droughts are man-made. They are not from nature. It is for man then to rectify drought conditions. It can be done by two simple steps: (1) rainwater harvesting and (2) reforestation. Deforestation is the key cause of droughts. Hence reforestation is required on a mass scale to reverse the drought scenario. And to save the underground as well as surface freshwater supplies, the further solution is simply to catch the rain water. Every human being can catch the rainwater. We can keep a pot - any pot - outside our homes. If we study more, we can learn how to attach pipes to the roofs of our homes and let those pipes feed into a larger storage pot. But if we do not know how to do this, it is okay. We can simply keep pots outside to catch that beautiful rainwater, which can extend our lives during hard times. The Chinese government has embarked on huge mega projects, such as diverting entire rivers from southern China to the north. Did it solve the problems of the people? No. We need to solve the problems locally by the above two strategies. These two solutions alone will provide relief to the common people. - WPA
This is the worst drought in 50 years, Xinhua says.
At least 18 million people have been affected by China's worst drought in 50 years, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
The south-western region of Chongqing has been worst hit, but areas of Sichuan and Liaoning are also affected.
In Chongqing there has been no rain for more than 70 days, and two-thirds of the rivers have dried up, Xinhua said.
Residents in some mountain villages are having to walk up to 2km (1.25 miles) to get water.
At least one person is said to have died from heatstroke, and Xinhua estimates the drought has caused economic losses of 11.74bn yuan ($1.24bn).
Weather extremes
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Thursday that in 2006, China had faced its most severe natural disasters for six years.
By 15 August this year, natural disasters had killed 2,006 people, affected more than 316m others and caused economic losses of 160bn yuan ($20bn), the ministry estimated, according to Xinhua.
Earlier this year, some parts of China were hit by heavy snowfall, while in recent months there have been several deadly typhoons, each killing hundreds of people.
This drought is again affecting millions of people. According to Xinhua, 10m people in Sichuan, nearly 8m in Chongqing and 600,000 in Liaoning do not have enough access to drinking water at the moment.
The problem has also affected huge areas of farmland, with crop failures and the death of cattle.
The Sichuan meteorological bureau has forecast that the drought will continue, at least for the next few days.
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Source: Raw Story