China’s record drought

【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, August 29, 2022】China’s Record Drought Is Drying Rivers and Feeding Its Coal Habit. Dry weather in southwestern China has crippled huge hydroelectric dams, forcing cities to impose rolling blackouts and driving up the country’s use of coal. The heat wave has scorched China for more than two months. In Chongqing, a sprawling metropolis of around 20 million people, the temperature soared to 113 degrees last week, the first time such a high reading had been recorded in a Chinese city outside the western desert region of Xinjiang. (An electronic billboard shut down to save energy in Chengdu, China. Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Car assembly plants and electronics factories in southwestern China have closed for lack of power. Factories owned by Foxconn, Toyota and Volkswagen have curtailed production or closed for lack of power. Owners of electric cars are waiting overnight at charging stations to recharge their vehicles. In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, several neighborhoods went without electricity for more than 10 hours a day. Rivers are so low there that ships can no longer carry supplies.

A record-setting drought and an 11-week heat wave are causing broad disruption in a region that depends on dams for more than three-quarters of its electricity generation. The factory shutdowns and logistical delays are hindering China’s efforts to revive its economy as the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, prepares to claim a third term in power this autumn.

The ruling Communist Party is already struggling to reverse a slowdown in China, the world’s second largest economy, caused by the country’s strict Covid lockdowns and a slumping real estate market. Young people are finding it hard to get jobs, while uncertainty over the economic outlook is compelling residents to save instead of spend, and to hold off on buying new homes.

Now, the extreme heat is adding to frustration by snarling power supplies, threatening crops and setting off wildfires. China’s extreme weather has potential implications for the world’s efforts to halt climate change. Beijing has sought to offset at least part of the lost hydropower from the drought by ramping up the use of coal-fired power plants. Customs data shows that the country’s imports of coal from Russia reached a new high last month. China is a large contributor to air pollution and to greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Many cities around the country have been forced to impose rolling blackouts or limit energy use. In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, several neighborhoods went without electricity for more than 10 hours a day.