China’s largest sweet lake sets record for early start of ‘dry season’

Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, entered the so-called “dry season” this week, a record as the earliest start date for that phase as there are records from 1951, local media reported today.

The lake’s water level at its reference hydrological station dropped to 11.99 meters this Thursday, a figure considered the start of the “dry season,” according to the Water Resources Department of (southeast) Jiangxi Province, where it is located.

Xinhua reported that the previous date of entering the earliest dry season was reported on August 6 last year, when the Puyang level fell below 12 meters.

Meanwhile, the highest water level in the lake was recorded on June 29 at 15.19 meters, about 4 meters lower than the average of previous years.

The weather forecast estimates that in the next 10 days there will be very little rain in that province

Meteorological forecasts estimate that in the next 10 days there will be little rain in that province, so the reserves of Puyang will continue to decline.

China’s State Council (Executive) on Friday asked for redoubled efforts to alleviate the drought afflicting a large part of the country.

Northern China is experiencing an unprecedented heat wave this summer

At a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Li Qiang, the government ordered the strengthening of water distribution tasks in the hardest-hit areas and ensuring supply in rural and urban areas, especially those dedicated to grain production and harvesting.

Northern China is witnessing an unprecedented heat wave this summer that left records in some regions, such as the city of Turpan, located in the Xinjiang region (northwest), which recorded a record temperature of 52.2 degrees, the highest ever documented in that region.

Lack of rain and high temperatures have led to severe droughts in cereal-producing regions

Lack of rain and high temperatures have meant that cereal-producing regions face severe droughts, which can pose challenges for crop production.

A total of 918,000 hectares of land has been affected by drought in Inner Mongolia (North), while Hebei (North), which has been hit by a rare heat wave and experienced the lowest rainfall in six decades, has intensified efforts to save its dry lands, according to state media.