Asia
Asia
People sit in a shallow pool of water in the bed of the Jialing River, a tributary of the Yangtze, in south-western China's Chongqing municipality on Aug 20, 2022. (Photo: AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
A blistering heatwave has engulfed China in the country’s hottest summer on record, subsuming half its land in drought.
The world’s second-largest economy has experienced more than 70 days of heatwaves, flash floods and droughts – phenomena that scientists say are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.
Southern China has recorded its longest continuous period of high temperatures since records began more than 60 years ago, the agriculture ministry said earlier this week.
The worst-affected area is the Yangtze River basin, which stretches from coastal Shanghai to Sichuan province in China’s south-west.
Sichuan province, China’s biggest hydropower producer, has seen its supply capability slump due to a long drought across the Yangtze basin, stoking fears the country could suffer another devastating power shortage.
In parts of Sichuan and Chongqing, locals seeking cooler temperatures have taken to sleeping in car parks and subway stations due to daily power cuts.
Diners in Chongqing, meanwhile, are heading to restaurants housed in World War II-era air raid shelters in a bid to escape the heat.
And along the Yangtze and its tributary Jialing, people have been taking the opportunity to explore newly exposed riverbeds and swim in shallow waters.
Here’s what the situation looks like on the ground:
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