Drought Continues to Ravage: Severe Drought Conditions Across Many Parts of the Country

    A drought that has persisted for many days, covered 12 provinces and autonomous regions, and affected 58 million mu of land is spreading rapidly, drawing widespread attention at home and abroad.

“Whether there is a harvest or not depends on water.” What characteristics does the current drought present, what impact will it have on China's autumn grain harvest, and what are the prospects for drought relief in the future? Xinhua News Agency reporters visited the hardest-hit areas and interviewed authoritative departments.

Severely Affected Areas Exceed 14 Million Mu

Reporters learned from the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, and the Meteorological Administration that this year's drought in China presents five major characteristics, including a wide range, the superposition of high temperatures and drought, and the concentration of severely affected areas.

The first is the wide scope of occurrence. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture show that 12 provinces and autonomous regions, including Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang, are currently experiencing droughts of varying degrees. As of now, the drought-affected area of crops nationwide is 58.68 million mu, of which 14.58 million mu are severely affected.

The second is the superposition of high temperatures and drought weather. In recent times, most areas in the north have continued to experience high temperatures, and many areas lack effective rainfall, intensifying the evaporation of soil moisture. High temperatures and little rain have caused accelerated soil moisture loss and increased crop transpiration, causing the drought to develop rapidly.

The third is the concentration of severely drought-affected areas. Reporters learned that this year's drought is mainly concentrated in Pingdingshan, Luoyang, Luohe, Xuchang, and Jiaozuo in Henan; Langfang, Cangzhou, Baoding, and Tangshan in Hebei; and Weinan in Shaanxi, among other places. Among them, Henan is the hardest-hit area of this drought disaster, with the affected area approaching half of the national affected area.

In addition, there is a serious shortage of water sources for drought relief. According to data from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, more than 600 reservoirs in Hubei Province are below the dead water level, 111 small reservoirs and more than 50,000 ponds have dried up; 225 reservoirs in Shanxi Province have dried up, and 16,000 electromechanical wells have insufficient water output; the total water storage of 21 large reservoirs in Henan Province is 1.3 billion cubic meters less than the same period in normal years, and water for drought relief is noticeably scarce.

Finally, the drought disaster has a relatively large impact on agricultural production. According to agricultural experts, during the drought period, most corn in the Huang-Huai, North China, and Northwest regions is at the bell-mouth stage, and rice is at the booting stage, which is precisely the critical period for water demand, with rapid growth and large water requirements. The current drought has already hindered the crop growth process in some areas.

“The current drought mainly affects ‘two ends.’ One end is the corn that was sown early and has already begun tasseling, causing flowering asynchrony; the other end is the fields that were sown late and are growing weakly, where the drought has caused rapid soil moisture loss and wilted and curled leaves.” said Cao Yande, Director of the Planting Industry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Localized Drought Will Cause Total Crop Failure

“The 15th of the seventh month determines drought or flood; the 15th of the eighth month determines the harvest.” The current period is a critical time for crop growth and development, and the ongoing drought will undoubtedly affect this year's autumn grain output in China.

“The grain is right before our eyes, but we cannot harvest it.” Liu Luying, village party secretary of Tielu Village in Jiaxian County, Henan, pointed to wilting corn plants and told reporters that if the drought continues like this, the cornfield before them may face total crop failure.

Reporters learned through interviews that due to the ongoing drought, some rural areas in Henan and other places face the risk of reduced or even total crop failure. According to data provided by Henan's agriculture department, over the past ten days, the drought-affected area in Henan has been increasing at a rate of 1.6 million mu per day. Of these affected areas, one quarter is severely affected - even if these fields receive ample rainfall, they will basically be in a state of total crop failure.

Regarding the impact of the drought on agriculture, information disclosed by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters shows that currently in drought-affected areas, 8.41 million mu of crops have reduced yields due to severe drought, and 560,000 mu have dried up and suffered total crop failure, already causing a certain impact on agricultural production.

Since autumn grain accounts for 70% of the annual grain output, and Henan's grain output accounts for one tenth of the national output, there is no doubt that the drought in Henan and other places will affect China's annual grain output. However, agricultural departments also stated that overall, this year's drought is less severe than in previous years, and crops in non-disaster areas are growing well. If response measures are appropriate, overall autumn grain harvest is still promising.

The Importance of Farmland Water Conservancy Becomes Prominent

As the farming proverb goes, whether there is a harvest or not depends on water. In years with favorable weather, crops often do not need too many rounds of artificial irrigation. When a severe drought arrives, artificial irrigation becomes very important, and the role of water conservancy projects becomes prominent.

Areas with better water conservancy facilities have relatively lighter droughts. In the high-standard grain fields of Chencao Township, Xuchang County, the fields are square, the roads form a network, and the ditches are connected. Self-propelled sprinkler irrigation equipment can be seen everywhere in the fields. Reporters saw that because the infrastructure of the high-standard grain fields is well built and water-saving irrigation equipment is complete, irrigation water for the grain fields has been well guaranteed, and the corn in the fields is growing vigorously.

“Although the drought in the county is severe, because the water conservancy facilities are well matched, ensuring harvests in both drought and flood, this year's corn growth is no different from normal years. Although it is a major disaster, it is only a minor affliction here.” said Zhou Bingchen, deputy director of the Xuchang County Agricultural Technology Extension Center.

A phenomenon that cannot be ignored at present is that the ongoing drought has increased the number of irrigation rounds and also raised farmers' costs for drought relief and field irrigation. Farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain has somewhat decreased, and signs of abandoning cultivation are emerging.

According to Wei Mengguan, deputy director of the Henan Provincial Department of Agriculture, due to consecutive years of drought, surface water in some places in Henan is seriously scarce, groundwater levels have dropped noticeably, and the cost of drought relief and field irrigation has risen sharply. In some areas where the groundwater level exceeds 200 meters, the average irrigation cost per mu has reached 60 to 100 yuan.

The increase in irrigation costs has reduced farmers' enthusiasm for drought relief. During interviews, reporters found that in some fields, dried-up corn lay crookedly on the ground, untended.

“Villagers feel that even if they spend money to irrigate, there is no hope for a harvest, so they have no choice but to give up.” Liu Luying told reporters that this year's drought is severe, and in many fields the crops could not grow even after watering twice, so villagers had no choice but to give up drought-resistant cultivation.

In response to this phenomenon, the Ministry of Agriculture requires agricultural technicians at all levels to “station in villages and take responsibility for areas” and “go to fields and households,” personally teach drought-resistant seedling protection techniques, strengthen the concept of scientific drought relief, reasonably grasp the order of drought relief, and provide classified guidance; it requires that cultivated land with irrigation conditions be irrigated where possible and protected where possible, while land without irrigation conditions should promptly be replanted or supplemented with short-growth-period crops, and preparations should be made for sowing autumn and winter crops.