Air Pollution: Visibility Down to 10 Meters in E China

Severe air pollution in China forces expressways to close

Many parts of China experienced extremely poor visibility on Sunday due to severe air pollution. Visibility in the eastern province of Jiangsu was reduced to 10 meters forcing authorities to close expressways for the day.

The capital Beijing recorded the highest level of hazardous PM2.5 concentration on a 6-point scale.

The heavy smog persisted in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province on Monday.

“Levels of PM2.5 particles are above 200 micrograms per cubic meter in most urban areas of the capital, that’s above safe levels. Many areas have a level 5 ‘heavy pollution’ warning, with some places at level 6, the highest pollution level,” said a report.

Authorities are warning residents to stay indoors, or wear masks to reduce harm to their eyes and lungs.

Visibility in the eastern province of Jiangsu was reduced to 10 meters forcing authorities to close expressways on Sunday. Screenshot from news clip posted on NHK site.

Outdoor air pollution contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths [that’s the equivalent of about 25 million healthy years of life from the population] in China in 2010, about 40 percent of the global total, said a report.

More Deaths and Destruction as Floods Hit China

Floods in China’s Yunnan province affect 1.6 million, killing dozens

Severe floods in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have affected 1.6 million people, killing at least 45, and displacing more than 26,500 others, said a report.

Original caption: Vehicles are stranded on a landslides-hit road in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 25, 2013. Rainstorms-triggered mountain floods, landslides and mud-rock flows hit the county in this weekend. (Xinhua/Peng Hong)

Rainstorms and floods wreak havoc in NE and S China

The latest round of flood crests on the Songhua River is expected to reach Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province [population: ~ 10 million] , on Tuesday, flood control experts said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, nearly 600 oil wells in Daqing, one of China’s major oilfields, which is about 150 kilometers from Harbin, have halted operation.

Persistent downpours since Aug 14 have caused the worst flooding since 1998 in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang [85 lives lost, 105 people missing,] which are the heartland of China’s grain production.

Heavy rain is likely to hit the provinces of Yunnan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hubei and Shanghai, with the precipitation in southwestern Yunnan expected to reach 100 to 150 mm from Sunday to Monday, the National Meteorological Center forecast on Sunday.[Xinhua]

Worst Flooding in a Century

Original caption: Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2013 shows residential houses inundated in floods in Shengdeku Village of Fuyuan County, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang has seen its worst flooding in a century with continuous rising water levels. About 300 households from the flooded Shengdeku Village and Heiyupao Village of Fuyuan County were evacuated before the floods swept their hometowns, inundating nearly 400,000 mu (about 26,667 hectares) of farmlands. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei). More images…

Typhoon Trami kills 2, affects 200,000 in China

Downpours brought by Typhoon Trami and monsoon have left two people dead and nearly 200,000 affected in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said Monday.

Rainstorms also toppled 668 rooms of 348 households and seriously damaged another 855 rooms of 451 households in Guangxi.

Typhoon Trami was the 12th typhoon to hit China this year. Rainstorms brought by the typhoon have also swept Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, affecting 1.4 million people and forcing the relocation of 351,000, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday.  [Xinhua]

Original caption: A villager checks his house damaged by flood at Zhoujia Village of Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 22, 2013. Trami, which was downgraded to tropical storm status, would likely bring persistent rain and cause floods in Guangxi. The region had been drenched by Typhoon Utor last week. (Xinhua/Lu Bo’an)

Hospital hit by landslide in SW China

Original caption: Geologists check the landslide site in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 26, 2013. A rain-triggered landslide occurred on Monday morning at a hill behind the People’s Hospital in Yilang, which damaged part of the hospital. Patients and residents in the surrounding area were evacuated and no casualties were reported. (Xinhua/Peng Hong). More images …

Flooding Links

• Major rivers rise, 6,000 dykes breached
• Historic flooding in claims 125 lives, affects 3.7 million

China’s Drought Turning Critical

Drought: Turning up the heat in E China

No rain for East China anytime soon: Forecasters

Drought is wreaking havoc across Central, South and East China. Many of the vast regions lakes, stricken by the worst drought in living memory, have dried up affecting tens of millions of people and millions of their livestock. There’s no prospect for early rain, forecasters say.

The drought that has affected 35 million people across 5 provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, according to the country’s Meteorological officials.

“Among them, about 4.23 million are experiencing difficulties in finding drinking water and 5.06 million are in need of assistance,” said a report.

China Drought Monitor – Worsening Drought Conditions (January 10, 2011)

Source: Division of Climate Impact Assessment/NCC/CMA

“Since early January, precipitation in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces has been about 40 percent to 60 percent less than the same period last year, causing a 60-day drought, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.”

“China’s two largest fresh water lakes – Dongting Lake in Hunan and Poyang Lake in Jiangxi – are both drying up dramatically and, by Friday, 34.83 million people had been affected in the five provinces, the ministry said, citing reports from local civil affairs departments.” The report added.

The drought has affected about 4 million hectares (10 million acres) of crops, pushing up the vegetable prices by  “19 percent from May 23 to May 27,” according to the Baishazhou Market in Wuhan, capital of drought-hit Hubei in Central China.” The report added. 

Once A Lake!

Dried lake near Shijiao town of Qingyuan City, south China’s Guangdong Province.  (Xinhua/Li Zuomiao). Image may be subject to copyright.

The central government has ordered the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River to discharge more water to help irrigate some of the drought stricken croplands downstream; however, the  dam will run out of water if there is no rainfall before June 10, the Three Gorges Corporation has told China Daily.

Related News

• Provinces in southern China brace for drought
• No rain expected to ease China’s Yangtze drought  
• Drought hitting Chaohu Lake in E China
• China’s “land of fish and rice” parched by drought