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Droughts raise water supply concerns in China

China Daily: In Wang Lianying's backyard are four basins filled with water that she uses for laundry, one each for soaking, soaping, scrubbing and rinsing. "The water's good for four or five cycles, at least half a month," the 69-year-old housewife said. "Our ox has to drink the water we use for washing our feet. "But we won't even be able to afford to use any water this way if the rain doesn't come in the next few days," she said. For many villagers like Wang in Songming county, Yunnan province, conserving...

Climate change offers pros, cons for grain supply

China Daily: Changes in rainfall and a concentration of greenhouse gases triggered by climate change may lead to an increase in China's grain yields in per-unit production over the next few decades. But negative effects of climate change, including extreme weather, plant diseases and a rising number of insects, will pose a threat to grain supply security, experts said. They added a rising population and arable land loss will also pose greater potential risks to the country's aims to ensure adequate food...

China: Pests and diseases plague crops

China Daily: China's farmlands face a serious increase in pests this year, in addition to the current prevailing long-lasting drought, the Ministry of Agriculture said. This year, the accumulated arable areas hit by plant diseases and insects are expected to reach 402 million hectares due to global warming and catastrophic drought, according to a notice posted on the ministry's website on Friday. A farmer from Yanghe village in Shiyan, Central China's Hubei province, checks on withered bok choi plants on...

Millions face water shortage in China

China Daily: JINAN - More than 2.2 million people and 2.7 million livestock are facing a water shortage as the worst drought in decades continues to linger in many parts of China. Sun Minghua, a rural resident of Bozhou in East China's Anhui province, checks out withering wheat seedlings on his farm on Thursday. [Photo/China Daily] Some wheat-growing regions, including Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces, have received little rainfall since October. More than 4 million hectares...

No clear winner in hydro vs coal power debate

China Daily: The argument that hydropower construction may contribute more pollution than thermal power plants has stirred controversy among the country's top authorities, reported Chinese media on Sunday. Ling Jiang, deputy director of the department of pollution prevention and control under the Ministry of Environmental Protection said recently that hydropower was not as clean as people thought and might cause more pollution than thermal power, said a report by China National Radio. He said the development...