A severe drought has been affecting portions of the south-central and southwest US. Among other impacts, it has caused dangerously low levels of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US. But the US drought is being dwarfed by an unprecedented heat wave in southern China. Extremely high temperatures and bone dry conditions have dominated the weather pattern there for more than two months.
“Chinese planes are firing rods into the sky to bring more rainfall to its crucial Yangtze River, which has dried up in parts, as swaths of the nation fall into drought and grapple with the worst heat wave on record.” https://t.co/zxvQDvHlQh
— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) August 18, 2022
Three Buddhist statues were revealed in China’s Yangtze River as water levels dropped to record lows, due to drought and heat waves. The statues, believed to be approx 600 years old, are atop the once-submerged island reef called Foyeliang, near the city of Chongqing. pic.twitter.com/niuwo2tlza
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 23, 2022
This past Saturday, the city of Chongqing, home to nine million people, saw an overnight low of 35 deg C (95 deg F). This is warmer than the average high temperature for August. It’s also the warmest minimum temperature ever recorded in China in the month of August. As dangerous as any extreme high temperature, overnight lows that warm eliminate the period of relief that residents and air conditioning systems need to operate effectively. Numerous major cities have seen record highs near or above 43 deg C (110 deg F) recently. Hundreds of millions of citizens have been affected. Beibei reported a high of 45 deg (113 deg F), the highest temperature ever recorded in China outside of the desert province of Xinjiang.
Shocking pictures from China: World’s third-largest river dries up in drought 👇pic.twitter.com/1rXKa01quq
— Daniel Moser (@_dmoser) August 23, 2022
The extreme heat and drought have drastically lowered lake and river levels. The impacts for drinking water and agriculture are obvious. However, these regions also depend heavily on hydroelectric power production that has been significantly hindered. Key industrial plants like car manufacturer Toyota and battery maker CATL have been forced to shut down. These restrictions will place additional strain on the already disrupted international supply chain.