Drought Devastating Mongolia

Severe drought plagues more than 30 percent of Mongolia

Mongolia has suspended grain exports as a severe drought plagues more than 30 percent of its agricultural land, with temperatures reaching record levels, according to authorities.

The drought follows a severe winter, with a dzud affecting much of the country.

“With nearly a third of the population made up of herders, the autumn harvest is crucial to the Mongolian economy,” said a report.

Drought impacts Inner Mongolia

Severe drought has also impacted Inner Mongolia, damaging crop yields and causing economic losses.

“According to the regional civil affairs department, Inner Mongolia has seen less rainfall and higher temperatures than normal this year. Since the beginning of July, more than half of the region has experienced temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. In the central and western areas, temperatures at 17 monitored sites have exceeded 35 degrees Celsius,” a report said.

As of July 14, more than four million people in 10 cities were affected by the drought, with at least two million requiring disaster relief. “About 2.7 million hectares of crops and 34.3 million hectares of grassland have been affected, leading to a direct economic loss of 5 billion yuan (737 million U.S. dollars).”

‘Dramatic’ Temperature Drops Reported in North China

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC DISASTERS
EXTREME TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS
SNOWSTORMS
MAIN SCENARIOS 887, 808, 785, 666, 560, 444, 177, 123, 111, 063, 033, 023, 09, 02
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Temperature Drops by 20°C in Northern China

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and northeastern Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin have experienced temperature drops of up to 20 degrees Celsius (36°F), China’s CCTV reported.

In Harbin, the highest temperature barely reached 5 degrees Celsius (41°F), said the report. “And the lowest in many cities is below zero. Heilongjiang’s Mohe has seen some heavy snowfall this season already.”

“The cold will also creep down into the southern and eastern regions, with temperature falls of up to 10 degrees Celsius, along with bouts of rain.”

Exceptional Drought Plagues Central, Northern China

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
RISING TEMPERATURES
EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
WATER FAMINE
CROP DISASTERS
FOOD INSECURITY
MAIN SCENARIOS 900, 808, 800, 555, 444, 123, 111, 100, 033, 011, 08, 04, 03, 02
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Water Famine Severely Affecting Parts of China

Persistent drought in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and central China’s Henan Province has dried up rivers and reservoirs, causing power and water shut-offs and severe drinking water shortages, said Xinhua.

In Inner Mongolia, about 600,000 people in seven prefectures and cities have been affected by the drought since April, with half of them lacking drinking water, according to the regional civil affairs department.

Some 150,000 hectares of farmland and 16.4 million hectares of pastures have been affected in the worst drought in three years. About 1.34 million heads of cattle also lack drinking water.

The worst drought since 1961, caused by more than 140 consecutive days without precipitation, has severely affected about 98 percent of pastures in Araxan prefecture, said the report.

Large swathes of Henan province have seen only about 10 percent of the average annual precipitation, making it the driest year since 1975.

About a million hectares of crops in the province had been affected by the drought as of July 26, 2014, said the report.

Pingdingshan City has had its worst drought since 1975. The Baiguishan Reservoir, the major source of drinking water in the city, was at dead storage level.

Water supply for car wash businesses, commercial swimming pools and public baths has been cut off in the city. Major water-consuming enterprises were ordered to restrict their consumption.

In the provincial capital of Zhengzhou City, the municipal power grid decided to restrict power supply for some residential compounds, enterprises and business operators for four days starting on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the temperatures are  forest to soar above above 35ºC in most  parts of the region this week,   according to the local meteorological office.

Heavy Snowfall in Inner Mongolia as Temperature Plunges

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
SUDDEN FREEZE
HEAVY SNOWFALL
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Inner Mongolia buried under heavy snow amid sudden freeze

Original Caption: Police officers help a herdsman clear snow around his yurt on a grassland in East Ujimqin Banner, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, May 4, 2014. Some parts of Inner Mongolia witnessed a heavy snowfall since Saturday, with the temperature dropping below zero degrees Celsius. (Xinhua/Burengyiya).  More images …

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – May 25, 2013

Sandstorm from Taklimakan Desert rages in NW China

An unusually strong sandstorm in Taklimakan Desert swept northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region this week, damaging or destroying homes, uprooting trees and crops, and lowering the visibility to less than 20 meters.

• Whipped by strong winds of up to 50km/h, the storm shrouded a vast region.

• Strong winds also swept parts of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, blanketing the region with floating dust and causing a temperature drops of at least 20 degrees.

• The sand storm also impacted eastern China, severely affecting the air quality in Beijing, which saw the air pollution level rising to just below “hazardous level,” with AQI of 299 on Thursday.

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March Against Monsanto: International Day of Protest

Hundreds of thousands of people across at least 59 countries are staging a global protest against Monsanto and GMO crops Saturday May 25.

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GOES-13 Weather Satellite Fails

The outage occurred exactly a week before  2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which NOAA has predicted to be  “extremely active,” was about to start.

GOES-13, which was launched in 2006, will remain in storage mode while the problem is being investigated. There is no estimate on return to operations at
this time, NOAA said.

SPECIAL MESSAGE:  GOES-East

GOES-14 is providing GOES-East coverage. GOES-14 is stationary at 105 degrees West with no current plans to drift east. GOES-13 will remain in storage mode while the anomaly is being investigated. There is no estimate on return to operations at this time. More information: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SATS/messages.html.

GOES satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. They circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth’s rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth.  Source: NOAA/SSD

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23 Killed in clashes in Tripoli, Lebanon

At least 23 people have been killed  in fierce fighting between pro- and anti-Syria groups in Tripoli, Lebanon, according to a report.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 25, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,022 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,022 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 9 May 2013

Massive explosion derails Russian cargo train, forces mass evacuation

Dozens of people have been injured after a massive explosion derailed a cargo train in southern Russia sending more than 50 fuel tanks off the tracks and setting off a huge blaze, which forced about 3,000 people to evacuate nearby area.

• “Over 50 rail cars of a 71-car-long cargo train derailed at the Belaya Kalitva station in Russia’s Rostov region at around 2 am local time,” said a report.

• Interfax news agency quoted an official representative of the North Caucasian railway as saying the derailment had caused a propane gas leak, which engulfed the locomotive.

• “According to preliminary information, there was no explosion, instead, the tank caught fire,” the source has said.

Photo from mchs.gov.ru via RT.

Meantime, another blast has ripped through a Moscow bus during the Victory Day, as Russia marks the 68th anniversary of World War II, RT said.

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Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Severe Flooding in Inner Mongolia

Thousands have been forced to flee their homes amid severe flooding in Inner Mongolia. Yimin River overflowed inundating multiple towns and villages downstream.

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Property Damage in northern and central Vietnam

Hailstorm and high winds have caused significant property damage in northern and central Vietnam since May 7, reports said.

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Dhaka building collapse death toll reaches 921

Death toll from the collapse of Rana Plaza, the stricken factory building near the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has climbed to 921, after 55 additional bodies were recovered on Thursday, officials said.

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 9, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,038 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,038 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

China Sandstorm – Satellite Image

China Choked by a Sandstorm

China was blasted by a major sandstorm, which originated in Inner Mongolia on Saturday March 20, 2010. This was the first of two sand storms to strike within two days.

The yellow dust reduced visibility and air quality to potentially hazardous levels in Beijing, and as far away as Taiwan and Japan. MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image.  Dust covers the lower half of the image and wraps around the right-hand side in a comma shape that terminates in a large ball of dust near image center. This pattern is consistent with the passing of a cold weather front bearing a strong area of low pressure at the surface. These weather systems, known as mid-latitude cyclones, are often associated with giant comma-shaped clouds that reveal how air from a very wide area gets drawn in toward the low-pressure heart of the storm. The comma shape is more pronounced in the larger image. Image and caption by NASA. [Edited by FEWW for brevity.]

Related Links:

• Second Sandstorm Blasts Beijing
• SW China on the precipice of catastrophe
• WORST EVER DROUGHT in SW China
• Disaster Calendar 2010
• Drought and Deluge
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Index of Human Impact on Nature (HIoN) March 2008
• 2010: The Year of Disasters