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Posted on 03/01/2008 5:20:12 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
March 1, 2008
5.9 million Chinese short of drinking water
BEIJING - THE number of people facing drinking water shortages in China has more than doubled to 5.9 million because of a severe winter drought, state media reported.
The figures released late on Friday jumped from 2.43 million a week earlier, the Xinhua news agency said, citing figures from the State Flood and Drought Relief Headquarters.
A spokesman was quoted saying the situation was due to lingering and severe winter drought.
The number of livestock without sufficient drinking water had jumped to 5.67 million from 1.89 million, and 15.8 million hectares of land have been affected compared to 2.9 million hectares at the same time last year, it said.
North-eastern parts of the country have been hardest hit by the drought accounting for 60 per cent of the drought-hit area, with rainfall in northern China down 70 per cent this winter, it added.
Severe water shortages are being felt across China.
Drought has seen parts of the Yangtze river hitting their lowest water levels in at least 140 years, leading to more than 40 ships running aground since October, state media said in January.
There are concerns the drought, combined with last month's severe cold snap, could lead to further upward pressure on food prices, with inflation already at record levels in staple foods such as pork. -- AFP
With the diversion of water for Olympic Game, the situation may get worse.
Ping!
1 billion Chinese people are short of bathing water.
Boycott the Olympics to save the Chinese.
Well,now. We have the Great Lakes, don’t we? Haw—watch for future developments in world-wide water shortage scenarios.
Olympics?
They don’t print enough hundred dollar bills that would get me to go to China.
I’ll let the Mao-Mart suppliers & Mao-Mart customers keep the Chicoms in Yuan...not I.
I thought you might like to see this.
Cheers!
I would guess that the prospects for growing crops that require irrigation are pretty bleak then?Doesn’t rice require vast amounts of water?
That's under .06 percent of their total population
Got to put it proper perspective
When the people start dying from hunger and thirst, it’s going to be a mess over there. That’s a lot of people to try to control.
Depends. Do you want calamity to befall them? Or would like them to solve it?
Seriously, this is a black eye for the Chinese.
And presents the potential for long-term problems, if it is indicative of continuing mismanagement and cronyism.
Cheers!
Maybe they should have thought of this prior to polluting their “waters” with filth. Oh that’s just too easy.
I think you're mixing me up with someone who is concerned with China's image. Rather, I defend China's right to develop as a nation.
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