4 Million Short Of Drinking Water In SW China - No Rain For 40 Days, Planting Delayed - AFP

[hatrack]

A severe drought has left four million people short of drinking water in southwest China, state media reported Tuesday, as the vast country battles a crippling water shortage. Some 4.46 million head of livestock were also affected by the drought in Sichuan, where parts of the province have not seen any rain for up to 40 days, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the province's meteorological bureau.

Around 110,000 people are depending on deliveries of water by truck, according to the provincial water resources department.

The drought has also prevented large areas of farmland from being seeded because of a lack of moisture and many of the crops that have been planted have shrivelled, the report added.

Last month, more than 4.8 million people in northern Gansu province faced similar shortages following the worst drought there since the 1940s, Xinhua said, citing state drought relief authorities.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Drought_Hits_Millions_In_Southwestern_China_As_Polluted_Lake_Forces_Factory_Shutdown_999.html

[aquart]

1. No glaciers, no runoff. Get used to it, folks.

[JohnF]

3. There's a problem in China of aquifer depletion too

China, India, and the US, are all looking at problems, not far off, of serious depletion of ground water. That plus drought = not good.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/voic-brow.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Time for their gov't to distribute water condensers/extractors

[NNadir]

5. Powered by what?

Funded by what?

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. PV panels, and in the case of China, just don't build a few missiles

[NNadir]

7. Are you serious?

Do you know what the per capita income of China is?

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. You have a better idea?

[kestrel91316]

2. Maybe they can have Oman ship some water their way. I hear it rained a bit

there yesterday.......

[kurth]

9. Urban and industrial air pollution is known to suppress rain

And air pollution is notorious in China.

[rubus]

10. This is why carbon dioxide is less important in China

China is criticized because it does not give the same priority to global warming as Western nations.

The reality is that unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, contaminated food supplies, over population, and conventional air pollution, are far greater and immediate environmental problems for China than global warming.

China is not enthusiastic about controlling carbon dioxide emissions when emissions of particulate matter, volital organic compounds, sulfer dioxide, and nitrous oxides, are having a far greater impact on public health and safety.

China must use its limited resources for potable water treatment facilities, sanitary wastewaste water treatment plants, and conventional air pollution control technologies.