China activates emergency response to drought

China's Ministry of Water Resources on Wednesday activated a Level IV emergency response to drought in eight provinces, namely Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi and Gansu. 

Since the beginning of May, low precipitation and high temperatures have led to drought in vast parts of the country, according to the ministry.

The ministry has directed the local governments to leverage water transfer and irrigation facilities to ensure adequate supply of water as the drought is likely to linger or deteriorate over the next 10 days.

Also on Wednesday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters dispatched two teams to hard-hit Shandong and Henan to provide disaster relief guidance. Henan and Shandong, respectively the largest and the second-largest wheat-producing provinces in China, are among China's major summer grain powerhouses.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has called on relevant government departments to monitor drought conditions, formulate emergency contingency plans and strengthen guidance on agricultural techniques.

The National Meteorological Center on Thursday continued its orange alert for high temperatures, which is the second-highest weather warning.

The persistently high temperatures and drought in recent days have had impacts on crops such as corn in multiple provinces, including central China's Henan Province and east China's Anhui Province.

Shen Xueyi, a farmer at a village in Xinxiang City in Henan, told CMG, "I planted the corn on July 7. The corn could have germinated if the temperatures were not that high."

"It's really too dry," said Shen, who showed the cracks in his cropland.

To ensure the summer planting, regions hit by the drought have taken measures to alleviate the drought and ensure the water demand for agriculture.

Liu Guangliang, head of an agricultural technology extension service station in Weihui City in Henan, told CMG, "We not only call on local farmers to dig up all water resources to water the crops as much as possible, but also teach them new watering modes, such as drip irrigation and watering with spray guns."

In Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province, five large reservoirs, 15 medium-sized reservoirs and multiple small reservoirs have been opened to release water, thus minimizing drought losses.

Moreover, new equipment and technology have been introduced to deal with drought and facilitate summer planting.

New multi-functional seeders have been put into use at a farmland in Guzhen Town in Anhui.

"The machinery can realize the integration of soil loosening, sowing, fertilization, suppression and pipe laying," Ren Qiliang, owner of the farmland, told CMG. "So these thick and thin water pipes are spread out in the farmland."

"Through the pipes, we can transport water from the well to every inch of land by drip irrigation instead of traditional water-consuming sprinkler irrigation, which not only effectively alleviates the drought, but also saves water resources," Ren said.

(With input from Xinhua)