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Oppressive heat dwells in China’s “three furnaces”
“Air-raid shelters, once used to protect Chongqing residents from air attacks during the war against Japanese aggression, have turned out to be an ideal place to escape from the scorching heat,” a report said.
Chongqing, formerly Chungking, is a major city in southwest China and the most populous Chinese municipality with a population over 30 million as of 2015. It has an urban population of 18.38 million including 8.5 million people who live in Chongqing city proper.
“During the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chongqing, then China’s temporary capital, was bombed by over 9,000 Japanese planes between 1938 and 1944. Its many bomb shelters cover an area of more than 1 million square meters.”
The city has opened 96 air-raid shelters, which provide basic comfort, entertainment and medical help, the report said.
“Some days, the city temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius, but inside the shelters it is as low as 27 degrees Celsius,” a resident said.
The mountainous city of Chongqing, located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, is known as one of China’s “three furnaces” — the other two being Wuhan and Nanjing — because of the sweltering summer heat, the report said.
Deadly Rainstorms, Flooding, Mudslides Plague Central, S and SW China
“Days of torrential rain in central China’s Hunan Province raised the water level of the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze River, to exceed its record flood level Sunday morning [The water level in the section of the river in Changsha, capital of Hunan, reached 39.21 meters surpassing previous record set by a massive flood in 1998.]”
“Hunan has experienced severe flooding after ongoing torrential rain over the last 10 days. Since June 22, flooding has inundated parts of several cities, forced 311,300 people to evacuate, damaged 295,160 hectares of crops and destroyed 6,369 houses,” Xinhua reported.
“Hunan has experienced severe flooding after ongoing torrential rain over the last 10 days. Since June 22, flooding has inundated parts of several cities, forced 311,300 people to evacuate, damaged 295,160 hectares of crops and destroyed 6,369 houses.”
The latest round of torrential rains lashed 832 towns in southern and eastern Hunan province, and affected more than 230,000 people in 20 counties and districts in Guangxi province, leaving several dead or missing.
Fatalities caused by H7N9 human infections have been reported in multiple provinces across China.
“Eight cities in east China’s Jiangxi Province reported a total of 28 human H7N9 avian flu cases, including seven fatalities, from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12 this year, the provincial health and family planning commission said Thursday,” said a report.
At least 192 infections, including 79 fatalities, were reported in 16 provinces in January, health authorities said.
Human infections of H7N9 avian flu strain was first reported in China in March 2013.
Severe smog plagues N. China, triggers ‘red alert’ in Beijing, 22 other cities
The red alert will be activated at 8 p.m. Friday for Beijing and 22 other cities and is expected to last through December 21, according to government media.
Taiyuan, the provincial capital of north China’s coal-rich Shanxi province, has also issued a red alert for severe air pollution, and will activate emergency measures at midnight Friday.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said another 20 cities including Shijiazhuang, Tianjin and Zhengzhou were expected to issue red alerts, with nine others on orange alert.
Eastern portion of Beijing sinking at a rate greater than 100 mm/year: Study
Now you see it, now you don’t! China’s capital Beijing could disappear in a gigantic sinkhole.
Beijing’s massive subsidence, which has been occurring since at least 1935, is caused by the overexploitation or mining of groundwater. About 60% of the water supply comes from groundwater, and the rest from surface water.
Beijing used about 3.6 billion cubic meters (m³) of water in 2010, compared to renewable fresh water resources of about 3 billion m³. [The consumption may have risen by about 14% over the past five years.]
Article: Imaging Land Subsidence Induced by Groundwater Extraction in Beijing (China) Using Satellite Radar Interferometry
Abstract
Beijing is one of the most water-stressed cities in the world. Due to over-exploitation of groundwater, the Beijing region has been suffering from land subsidence since 1935. In this study, the Small Baseline InSAR technique has been employed to process Envisat ASAR images acquired between 2003 and 2010 and TerraSAR-X stripmap images collected from 2010 to 2011 to investigate land subsidence in the Beijing region. The maximum subsidence is seen in the eastern part of Beijing with a rate greater than 100 mm/year. Comparisons between InSAR and GPS derived subsidence rates show an RMS difference of 2.94 mm/year with a mean of 2.41 ± 1.84 mm/year. In addition, a high correlation was observed between InSAR subsidence rate maps derived from two different datasets (i.e., Envisat and TerraSAR-X). These demonstrate once again that InSAR is a powerful tool for monitoring land subsidence. InSAR derived subsidence rate maps have allowed for a comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis to identify the main triggering factors of land subsidence. Some interesting relationships in terms of land subsidence were found with groundwater level, active faults, accumulated soft soil thickness and different aquifer types. Furthermore, a relationship with the distances to pumping wells was also recognized in this work.
Chen M, Tomás R, Li Z, Motagh M, Li T, Hu L, Gong H, Li X, Yu J, Gong X. Imaging Land Subsidence Induced by Groundwater Extraction in Beijing (China) Using Satellite Radar Interferometry. Remote Sensing. 2016; 8(6):468.
Groundwater from aquifers is a main source for drinking, irrigation and industrial use for much of the world’s population. Globally, an estimated 4 billion people depend on groundwater for drinking, but the water is running out!
Groundwater cannot be replenished from rainfall, and in most cases it takes tens of thousands of years to restore naturally.
According to the International Water Management Institute, about 1,000 cubic kilometers of groundwater are withdrawn each year, which is wholly unsustainable!
Volume of Fresh water: Approximately 35 x 10^15 m³ of the earth’s total water. About 0.3% of the freshwater is held in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs and the remainder is stored in glaciers, permanent snow, and groundwater aquifers.
Water contained in the earth’s atmosphere: about 13 x 10^12 m³
Water removed from the earth’s surface via evaporation: about 577 x 10^12 m³ each year (only 14% of the water evaporation is from land).
Total annual precipitation falling on land: about 115 x 10^12 m³ (20% of total evaporation – the 6% surplus water returns to the oceans via rivers.)
Total freshwater on Earth stored as groundwater: Approximately 11 x 10^15 m³ (30% of all freshwater).
Water collected in lakes and rivers: about 110 x 10^12 m³ is held as groundwater (one hundredth of the total groundwater reserves)
Aquifers contribution to human water consumption: an estimated 30% [?] of all of the water used throughout the world.
Natural recharge rate for the aquifers: from 0.01% to 3% per year.
Estimated overdraft of global groundwater: about 200 x 10^9 m³ or (twice the average recharge rate!)
World cities and agricultural lands that are situated above aquifers and groundwater reserves are slowly but permanently sinking into the ground, as the water is pumped out at phenomenal rates.
In China, at least 46 cities are sinking into the ground due to the excessive pumping of groundwater. In Shanghai excessive groundwater pumping contributes to 70 percent of surface subsidence (the remaining 30 percent is thought to be due to the weight of buildings).
At least 7.68 million people across 10 Chinese provinces have been affected by extreme rain events and sever flooding, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Weather related disasters have left dozens of people dead or missing, destroying thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops.
East China
“In east China’s Jiangxi Province, six people died, according to the provincial civil affairs department. Among them, two drowned in swollen rivers, while four were killed by lightening.
“Three people remain missing, 105,700 hectares of crops were ruined, 969 houses destroyed and direct economic losses have been estimated in the region of 2.16 billion yuan (about 328.5 million U.S. dollars).
“About 199,000 people have been displaced, including about 13,000 from Guxiandu, Poyang County where a river breached its banks on Monday evening. More than 400 armed police plan to mend a 100-meter gap in the river defenses on Wednesday. “We’re waiting because the water level remains high,” said a police spokesman.
Southeast China
“Thousands of homes were flooded in Poyang county, Jiangxi province, late on Monday after Bintian Reservoir overflowed as torrential rain continued to wreak havoc in South China.”
“In Hunan province, a flooded river in Longshan county forced about 18,500 residents to leave an ancient township.
“Torrential rains and floods have affected 213,800 residents and forced the relocation of 32,800 people in the province, according to provincial authorities.”
“In neighboring Guizhou province, rescuers saved more than 150 residents who were stranded after their villages were flooded in Yanhe county. More than 1,500 people were relocated,” local media reported.
Central China
In central China’s Hunan Province, torrential rains have triggered extensive flooding forcing at least 20,000 people, including 5,000 tourists, to evacuate, Official Xinhua reported
Dozens dead or missing, 200,000 displaced in southern China floods three days
Floods, landslides and mudslides have left dozens of people dead or missing and at least 197,000 others displaced in southern China since Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
According to the Ministry, by 9 a.m. Monday, about 3.7 million people in seven provinces, including Hubei and Sichuan, and Chongqing Municipality, had been affected by the disasters.
Extreme weather events has destroyed thousands of homes and 20,900 hectares of crops, with the direct economic losses estimated at about US$407.9 million, the officials said.
In northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at least 13,000 people were displaced after torrential rains battered region , the report said.
’14 dead in floods, hailstorms across 3 Chinese provinces’
“Floods and landslides have caused 13 deaths in southwest China’s Guizhou Province and central China’s Hunan Province while a hailstorm had killed one in northern Shanxi Province as of Thursday morning, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
“Guizhou has reported nine fatalities and nine missing with about 65,600 people evacuated, due to heavy rainfall and landslides this month, said the ministry in a statement.
“Hunan has confirmed that four people have died, six remain missing and 157,000 people have been evacuated, while Shanxi reported one death and one missing, the statement said.
“60,000 workers culled from just one factory as China’s struggling electronics hub turns to artificial intelligence” —SCMP
At least 600 other companies look to decimate their workhorses, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
Apple’s supplier Foxconn and three dozen other Taiwanese companies spent about 4 billion yuan (USD610 million) on artificial intelligence last year, according to the Kunshan government.
“The Foxconn factory has reduced its employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000, thanks to the introduction of robots. It has tasted success in reduction of labour costs,” said a local official.
“More companies are likely to follow suit.”
Kunshan was regarded as the most economically successful county-level administration in China. Its GDP grew substantially from around 20 billion yuan in 2000 to over 300 billion yuan in 2014.
It manufactured about 120 million laptops a year at its peak, but output had fallen to only 51 million because of falling demand, local officials said.
Home to about 4,800 Taiwanese companies, it accounts for over 60 percent of the county’s GDP, with two-thirds of the population of 2.6 million comprising of migrant workers.
Worker suicide rate could shoot through the roof!
Foxconn, then world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has been plagued by a spate of suicides since at least 2007, and peaking at 2010, when at least 18 attempted suicides by the employees resulted in a minimum of 14 known deaths. The suicides occurred at “Foxconn City” industrial park in Shenzhen, China.
At least 7 other suicide deaths at the company were reported between 2010 1nd 2013.
Prompted by the first wave of suicides in 2010, two dozen Chinese universities worked together to compile a report on Foxconn manufacturing environment, which they described as a “labor camp.” Foxconn’s management style was criticized as “inhumane and abusive.” Interviews of 1,800 Foxconn employees at a dozen factories also discovered evidence of illegal overtime and failure to report accidents.
Robots replacing bipeds: 260,000 robots are working in U.S. factories
As of February, at least 260,000 robots were working in U.S. factories, according to a report.
“Orders and shipments for robots in North America set new records in 2015, according to industry trade group Robotic Industries Association. A total of 31,464 robots, valued at a combined $1.8 billion, were ordered from North American companies last year, marking a 14% increase in units and an 11% increase in value year-over-year.”
Deadly cold spell kills dozens of people in Taiwan Japan, Vietnam, China, S. Korea…
Taiwan. Record cold over the weekend has killed about 100 people.
A sudden drop in Taipei city temperature plunged the mercury to a record low of 4ºC (39F)on Sunday.
South Korea. About 1,000 flights were cancelled, stranding more than 90,000 tourists on Jeju island, as temperatures fell to record lows.
Seoul temperature fell to -18ºC, the lowest since Jan. 15, 2001, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.
Temperature in North Korea’s northeastern tip fell to -37.5ºC on Saturday night, said the South Korean weather agency.
Pyongyang temperature fell from -15ºCon Saturday to -19ºC early Sunday.
Radio Free Asia reported Saturday that more than 40,000 North Korean workers had been withdrawn from construction sites due to big freezing, said the report.
Vietnam and Thailand. Record or near-record low temperatures affected much of the two countries.
Southern and eastern China. First snow in fifty years blanketed Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, over the weekend.
“China’s national observatory on Sunday evening renewed its orange alert for a cold wave as most parts of the country experienced the coldest weather in decades in the weekend.”
At least four fatalities have been reported.
In Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the fisheries authorities reported the loss of 54 tons of product as of Sunday due to the cold.
Hong Kong. Temperature fell to a record low of
Japan. Snowstorms hammered large portions of Japan, killing at least 8 people, leaving hundreds injured, and forcing scores of flight cancellations.
Much of China will experience a rapid drop in temperatures together with heavy snow and rain in the coming days as a strong cold front approaches the country.
The National Meteorological Center forecast sharp drops in temperatures across northwestern, northern and northeastern China, with the mercury plunging by as much as 14 degrees Celsius.
“The center warned of snow and rain in central and eastern provinces, which will see their coldest days so far this winter.
“Meteorological authorities in eastern Jiangxi Province forecast a cold snap from Wednesday, adding rain and snow to the coldest week since 1992.”
“The temperature will stay minus zero for several days. Only ten percent of the vegetables will survive,” said a farmer.
Major cities in the affected regions including Shanghai and Changsha are expected to see record low temperatures.
In Beijing, the freezing weather catapulted power demand, raising the grid peak load to a record winter high of 16.6 gigawatt Monday evening, said the report.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., NWS forecasters issued the following alert:
Potential major winter storm for the Eastern U.S. later this week
NWS forecasters are monitoring the possibility of a major winter storm affecting the Northeast later this week, including the possibility of heavy snow for the urban corridor extending from Washington, DC, to New York and Boston Friday into Sunday. Based on the anticipated storm track, as much as 1 to 2 feet of snow is possible near and northwest of I-95. Coastal flooding is also likely.
‘Red alert’ for dangerous air pollution extends to more areas in N. China
China’s Hebei Province and the port city of Tianjin saw their first-ever air pollution red alerts Wednesday, said a report.
Red alert is the most severe in China’s four-tier warning system, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Hebei province, which is home to six of the ten most polluted Chinese cities in November, issued its first red alert for smog Tuesday noon.
The cities of Baoding, Handan, Langfang and Xingtai had already issued red alerts before the provincial-wide alert came into effect, said the report.
On Monday night, Tianjin also issued its first red alert for air pollution, which will last from 0:00 a.m. Wednesday to 6:00 a.m.Thursday, according to a government statement.
During the red alert, only half of the cars will be allowed on the roads; “enterprises and public institutions will adopt flexible working hours and large outdoor activities and construction work will be suspended.”
Particle pollution contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small they can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. Small particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter pose the greatest problems, because they can get deep into your lungs, and some may even get into your bloodstream. Source: EPA
Additionally, schools will also cancel classes. “Key polluting industries will cut production as continuous cleaning operations are conducted in the city’s downtown areas.”
Beijing was hit with severe air pollution on Tuesday, with pollution levels expecting to reach grade six on a six-grade pollution gauging system in the southern part of the city later in the day, according to Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center (BMEMC).
“Affected by increased humidity and temperature inversion, the density of PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers used to measure air quality) may exceed 500 micrograms per cubic meter on Tuesday,” the report quoted an environmental expert from BMEMC.
PM2.5 reached a two-day high of 506 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing as of 4:00 p.m Tuesday, according to http://aqicn.org/city/beijing/.
Heavy smog has hit the country’s Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region on three occasions since late November. Low wind speed, high humidity and unfavorable wind conditions are the main causes of the smog…
Other parts of north China also experienced some of the worst smog so far this year starting Saturday.
Orange, yellow and blue alerts have been issued in cities in the provinces of Henan, Shandong and Liaoning.
The PM2.5 level was 248 micrograms per cubic meter in Shenyang as of 7:00 p.m Tuesday.
Poor visibility caused by heavy fog and smog, affected the trains on high-speed rail linking Shenyang, capital city of Liaoning, and the coastal city of Dalian. The trains were forced to reduce speed to 200 km/hr down from the normal 300km/hr, the report quoted the Shenyang railway bureau as saying
Some 15 highways in Liaoning Province were either completely or partially closed, according to the local transportation department.
In addition, 15 highways in Liaoning Province were either completely or partially closed, according to the local transportation department.
China landslide: Dozens of buildings collapse in Liuxi Industrial Park in Shenzhen
A massive landslide hit an industrial park in Shenzhen City in south China’s Guangdong Province Sunday morning, destroying dozens of apartment blocks and other buildings. Authorities fear multiple casualties.
The landslide occurred in the Liuxi Industrial Park in Guangming New District in northwest section of Shenzhen, said a report.
Up to a 1,000 people have been evacuated, and several injuries reported. Dozens of people remain missing.
“The soil that caused the landslide had been dug up over the past two years in construction work and was piled up in the park,” said the report.
In November, a landslide in Zhejiang province killed dozens of people.
Beijing has issued its first ever “red alert” as smog levels continue to build up.
The red alert means schools must close and outdoor construction have to stop, probably for the next three days.
The red alert, the highest available, which has not been used in the Chinese capital before, means authorities expect at least three consecutive days of hazardous smog.
The PM2.5 AQI in the city were 249 at 24:00 local time, down from a recent maximum of 428, and much lower than last week’s levels that easily exceeded 600.
The red alert indicates that hazardous pollution levels are forecast over the next three or more days.
Additionally, China’s weather observatory has issued an orange alert for smog in northern China, which is expected to linger through Tuesday evening, reported the state-run Xinhua news agency.
“Beijing, Tianjin, parts of the neighboring provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shandong, as well as Shanxi, Shaanxi and parts of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in east China will face moderate smog, with south Beijing to experience heavy smog, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.”
Environmental activists said the AQI reached a record 1,400 in the city of Shenyang the last week of November, the highest in the country, according to reports.
Self-imposed “house arrest” for N. China; potentially deadly consequences if they break the “curfew”
Heavy smog covers a massive area measuring 530,000 km² around Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as hazardous air pollution chokes 31 cities, said CCTVNews.
A thick blanket of smog, containing potentially deadly pollution, covered 31 cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi and Henan on Sunday and Monday, prompting authorities to issue a ‘crazy smog’ alert.
Resident in Beijing and other affected cities have been advised to stay indoors.
Smog will persist in most parts of north China through Wednesday, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC).
Meanwhile, the air quality in the Indian capital, New Delhi, also plunged into “hazardous” territory as thick smog choked the city, reducing visibility to about 100 meters.
China’s weather observatory issued a smog alert on Tuesday for the country’s north and northeast, said a report.
“Beijing, Tianjin, parts of the neighboring provinces of Hebei, Henan and Shandong, as well as parts of northeastern Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces will be shrouded in moderate smog from Tuesday to Wednesday, and Liaoning Province will suffer from heavy smog, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast.”
GONI leaves a trail of death and destruction along its path
Typhoon GONI made landfall in the Philippines on August 22 bringing torrential rains, causing floods and landslides and prompting three provinces in northern Luzon to declare states of calamity.
The typhoon left at least 26 people dead, 15 missing and dozens injured. It destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 houses, forcing thousands to flee their homes.
It left about 70 people injured in southern Japan, prompting mass evacuations.
The typhoon caused transport chaos in Shanghai, China, forcing flight cancellations.
Heavy rains associated with the powerful storm system left at least 40 people dead in Rason City, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and affected more than 11,000 others.
Flooding also destroyed or damaged at least 1,000 homes in the country, inundating farmlands and spoiling crops.
Powerful shockwave felt with 5-km radius of explosion
A large explosion has occurred at a chemical plant in eastern China’s Shandong province, reported the People’s Daily China. The site is reportedly less than a kilometer from residential areas.
The powerful blast destroyed the plant and shattered windows in nearby houses. It was felt within a five-kilometer radius of the explosion, local media reported.
Injuries have been reported. Residents in nearby communities are being evacuated.
Tianjin Blast Update
Meanwhile, death toll from north China’s Tianjin blast has risen to 121, including 67 fire crews and seven police officers, authorities said on Saturday.
A total of 54 people are still missing, including 37 fire crews and four police officers, ten days after the powerful blasts ripped through the plant in Tianjin Port on August 12, said the report
Some 640 people remain hospitalized, including 48 who were critically injured.
“Water samples from seven out of 27 locations within the [disaster] zone contained excessive levels of cyanide. The worst was up to 54.6 times higher than safe levels.”
Floods kill 252 people, leave 55 missing, cost China $18.4 billion so far this year
Deadly floods have affected about 59.32 million people in 29 provincial regions across China, causing direct economic losses of 117.6 billion yuan (18.4 billion U.S. dollars), according to the latest figures released by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the official Xinhua news reported.
The report did not reveal the number of people that have been displaced across the affected regions. However, Fire-Earth Disaster Models show an average of one person is displaced for every 25 people affected by extreme weather events in China.
The provinces of Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were the most severely affected areas, said the report.
More than 1 million affected in NW China drought
Drought has affected more than a million people in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said the regional authorities, according to a report.
About 1.05 million people in 12 areas have been short of drinking water since May. “More than half these people are in need of basic supplies while 450,000 are short of drinking water.”
Drought has damaged at least 170,000 hectares of cropland, totally destroying some. “Autumn harvest yields in the region are expected to be greatly reduced.”
“The drought has also left 720,000 livestock short of drinking water, resulting in economic losses of about 500 million yuan (78.2 million U.S.dollars),” according to the report.
The death toll from powerful explosions in the northern Chinese port of Tianjin has climbed to 44, including 12 firecrews, reported the official Xinhua news agency.
At least 521 people have been hospitalized including 52 critically injured, said the report.
Up to 40 people are reported as missing, according to other reports.
A total of 3,500 people have been relocated to 10 nearby schools, Zhang Yong, head of the Binhai district government said [adding that] the number will reach to 6,000 by Thursday night…
The office building of Chinese supercomputer Tianhe-1, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, suffered damage. Sources at Tianhe-1 told Xinhua the computer is not damaged, but they have shut down some of its operations as a precaution.
Tianhe-1 provides data services to more than 300 organizations across China, including several universities and banks.
Deadly typhoon dumps up to 645mm of rain in E. China
After battering Taiwan, SOUDELOR slammed Fujian Province on Saturday night, affecting also the neighboring Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces.
SOUDELOR killed at least 6 people in Taiwan, left others missing and more than 100 injured.
The typhoon dumped 645mm of rain in Wencheng county, the heaviest in a hundred years, said an official report.
“In the provincial capital of Fuzhou, much of the downtown area was waterlogged. More than 10,000 trees had fallen and traffic stalled on flooded streets.”
The storm forced three airports to close, with more than 530 flights canceled. Six expressways were closed due to flooding, and 191 high-speed trains were cancelled, said the report.
Super Typhoon SOUDELOR blasts through Saipan, targeting Taiwan, China
On August 04 at 15:00UTC Super Typhoon SOUDELOR was located near 19.0N, 136.8E[JTWC and other models] packing maximum sustained winds ≥ 260 km/hr (≥140 kt), with gusts of up to 320 km/hr (∼173kt).
The Super Typhoon has tracked westward [280 degrees] at about 20 km/hr over the past six hours.
SOUDELOR is currently generating significant wave height in excess of 16 meters.
Fire Earth 