Chongqing: The riverbed has turned into torn earth, attracting some curious, some taking selfies in the sun exposed to receding water. Farmers deprive their yellow rice stalks, their famous hot pepper plants, of almost all their fruit, their dry reservoirs.
landscape of chongqingA megacity that also takes in the surrounding farmland and steep and picturesque mountains, has been transformed by an unusually long and intense heat wave and accompanying drought.
Based on its intensity, geographic area and duration, Chinese meteorologists are calling it the country’s hottest summer since record-keeping began in 1961. Now in its third month, it has surpassed the previous record of 61 days in 2013. Temperatures are above 40 °C (104 °F) in cities and villages in southern China. Chongqing in the southwest has been hit particularly hard.
Feather longquan In the rolling hills south of urban Chongqing, a farmer walks across broken soil at the bottom of a community reservoir that was once full of water. The retaining wall of the reservoir leaked a few months ago, and with the heat and drought, only a few meters (yards) across is a puddle left.
in the north, lee siming Muir walks through his fields turning yellow rice plants in town as the sound of jets landing at a nearby airport echoes through the hills. With supplies limited, the communal water that would normally go to their rice crops was diverted to fruit orchards.
“We pray to God, but God won’t make it rain. We ask the local government, but the government won’t give us water,” Lee said.
He is using expensive tap water to irrigate his fields. He estimates that his crop from three hectares of land will be 400 kg of rice, less than a third of his usual amount. Farmers advance the harvest by half a month so that the crop does not dry out, but before the grain is fully grown.
A strong high pressure ridge standing on the west Russia This summer is on the back of heat waves in both China and Europe. The extreme heat is probably linked to human-caused climate change – although scientists have yet to do calculations and computer simulations to say this.
Jialing Rivera tributary of yangtze, has shrunk to less than half the width of its channel through the heart of Chongqing. Residents and visitors make their way across the exposed riverside boulders to take selfies and watch the rest of the water flow. In the evening, a squad of uniformed officers use megaphones to drive the crowd back to the high grounds of an adjacent promenade.
Along the Yangtze, which also runs through the city of Chongqing, families and children play in shallow water near the base of an exposed bridge support column. Dirty streaks more than 8 meters (25 ft) above their heads along the column mark past river levels. As it gets dark, a woman, illuminated by her smartphone, sits on a rocky outpost that is usually submerged in the middle of the river.
landscape of chongqingA megacity that also takes in the surrounding farmland and steep and picturesque mountains, has been transformed by an unusually long and intense heat wave and accompanying drought.
Based on its intensity, geographic area and duration, Chinese meteorologists are calling it the country’s hottest summer since record-keeping began in 1961. Now in its third month, it has surpassed the previous record of 61 days in 2013. Temperatures are above 40 °C (104 °F) in cities and villages in southern China. Chongqing in the southwest has been hit particularly hard.
Feather longquan In the rolling hills south of urban Chongqing, a farmer walks across broken soil at the bottom of a community reservoir that was once full of water. The retaining wall of the reservoir leaked a few months ago, and with the heat and drought, only a few meters (yards) across is a puddle left.
in the north, lee siming Muir walks through his fields turning yellow rice plants in town as the sound of jets landing at a nearby airport echoes through the hills. With supplies limited, the communal water that would normally go to their rice crops was diverted to fruit orchards.
“We pray to God, but God won’t make it rain. We ask the local government, but the government won’t give us water,” Lee said.
He is using expensive tap water to irrigate his fields. He estimates that his crop from three hectares of land will be 400 kg of rice, less than a third of his usual amount. Farmers advance the harvest by half a month so that the crop does not dry out, but before the grain is fully grown.
A strong high pressure ridge standing on the west Russia This summer is on the back of heat waves in both China and Europe. The extreme heat is probably linked to human-caused climate change – although scientists have yet to do calculations and computer simulations to say this.
Jialing Rivera tributary of yangtze, has shrunk to less than half the width of its channel through the heart of Chongqing. Residents and visitors make their way across the exposed riverside boulders to take selfies and watch the rest of the water flow. In the evening, a squad of uniformed officers use megaphones to drive the crowd back to the high grounds of an adjacent promenade.
Along the Yangtze, which also runs through the city of Chongqing, families and children play in shallow water near the base of an exposed bridge support column. Dirty streaks more than 8 meters (25 ft) above their heads along the column mark past river levels. As it gets dark, a woman, illuminated by her smartphone, sits on a rocky outpost that is usually submerged in the middle of the river.