Provinces work to protect crops amid drought

Farmers hold breath as prolonged lack of rain threatens to destroy harvests

As a severe drought grips multiple provinces across China, local governments are stepping up emergency response efforts to safeguard agricultural production and minimize losses.

Extreme meteorological drought continues to affect Henan and Shaanxi provinces, with exceptional drought — the highest level — plaguing southwestern Shaanxi and southwestern Henan, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Over the next three days, moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast for eastern Yunnan province and the western and central-southern parts of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, bringing some relief to those areas. However, the remaining drought-stricken regions are expected to receive little to no precipitation, meaning drought conditions are likely to persist or even intensify, the center said.

Zhai Jianqing, an expert with the National Climate Center, said the drought is taking a toll on wheat fields in Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, especially those lacking irrigation.

"Currently, most wheat crops are in the flowering to grain-filling stage, but those without irrigation are experiencing hindered grain filling," he told Xinhua News Agency.

Since the start of this year, precipitation in the Yellow River Basin has been nearly 30 percent below average, with the middle reaches seeing reductions of 30 to 40 percent. Several areas in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan have experienced varying degrees of drought, according to Wang Weilu, a junior official at the Yellow River Conservancy Commission.

To mitigate the impact, local governments have launched a range of relief measures. In Henan, the provincial finance department has allocated a special fund of 50 million yuan ($6.91 million) to support wheat irrigation and stabilize grain output.

"We have inspected and maintained 880,000 irrigation wells, and strengthened power and fuel supply to meet drought resistance needs," said Yang Yajun, director of the grain crops division at the province's agriculture and rural affairs department.

Henan has also implemented region-specific irrigation strategies. In areas relying on reservoirs and rivers, authorities have increased water supply. In plains, officials have worked to ensure power supply to wells to expand irrigated acreage. In hilly and mountainous regions, small-scale water conservancy infrastructure such as ponds, weirs and dams have been used to aid irrigation. Officials have also been mobilized to help out in the field.

"Since April 1, Henan has irrigated a cumulative total of 7.5 million hectares of wheat, with some areas completing second and third rounds of irrigation," Yang said.

In Shaanxi, Hengshan district in the city of Yulin has upgraded its meteorological monitoring capabilities and is preparing for cloud-seeding operations if atmospheric conditions allow, Shaanxi Daily reported Thursday.

To support irrigation efforts, the Wanggedu Reservoir — Yulin's primary water source with a capacity of 389 million cubic meters — has increased discharge rates from 3.8 cubic meters per second to 7.67 cubic meters per second. It aims to supply water to 13,333 hectares of farmland.