Posted on 08/22/2022 8:28:12 PM PDT by algore
CHONGQING, China — China says it will try to protect its grain harvest from record-setting drought by using chemicals to generate rain, while factories in the southwest waited Sunday to see whether they would be shut down for another week due to shortages of water to generate hydropower.
The hottest, driest summer since the government began recording rainfall and temperature 61 years ago has wilted crops and left reservoirs at half their normal water level. Factories in Sichuan province were shut down last week to save power for homes as air conditioning demand surged, with temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit).
The coming 10 days are a "key period of damage resistance" for southern China's rice crop, said Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian, according to the newspaper Global Times.
Authorities will take emergency steps to "ensure the autumn grain harvest," which is 75% of China's annual total, Tang said Friday, according to the report.
Authorities will "try to increase rain" by seeding clouds with chemicals and spraying crops with a "water retaining agent" to limit evaporation, Tang's ministry said on its website. It gave no details of where that would be done.
The disruption adds to challenges for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to shore up sagging economic growth before a meeting in October or November when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to award himself a third five-year term as leader.
A smaller Chinese grain harvest would have a potential global impact. It would boost demand for imports, adding to upward pressure on inflation in the United States and Europe that is running at multi-decade highs.
Also Sunday, thousands of factories in Sichuan province that make solar panels, processor chips and other industrial goods waited for word on whether last week's six-day shutdown would be extended.
What could possible go wrong?
Think: Three Gorges Dam!
The transition from free electricity for manufacturing to no electricity at all must come as a shock. The Mandate of Heaven is not working—floods to drought.
Increasing the level of CO2 increases a plants ability to grow with less water. Just saying....
They could try two Hydrogens to one Oxygen.
There’s zero chance the Chinese can produce enough rain at this point to more than marginally improve their problem, much less threaten 3 Gorges Dam. Much of their West, (like much of the Western US) needs a major weather pattern change that drastically increases precipitable water values for a considerable period.
Basically, it’s like that old saying about turnips and blood.
Interesting website for those who follow such things:
https://journal.probeinternational.org/reservoir-level-3/
Ice-Nine comes to mind.
Ohoooo scary NPR headline!! Chemicals for gosh sake!! It is silver iodide cloud seeding...pretty routine stuff:
https://www.dri.edu/cloud-seeding-program/what-is-cloud-seeding/
Elizabeth Warren: How silly and primitive of them. I could do a rain dance and they’ll be drenched. For the right campaign cash donation.
China is desperate. It has 130 million mouths to feed and no food. The vast drouth is expanding with no solution for the near future in sight other than cloud seeding.
If they flood their country out because of this I’m gonna laugh my ass off.
CC
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