Community | February 09, 2011 | 6 comments

Severe winter drought threatens China's crops

source: http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Drought_threatens_China_crops_UN_Food_agency_warns_999.html

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JanforGore

http://www.seeddaily.com/reports/Drought_threatens_China_crops_UN_Foo...

A severe winter drought is threatening crop production in China, the world's biggest wheat provider, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in an alert issued Tuesday. Substantially below-normal rainfall since October in Northern China has not only put the crop at risk but has also caused shortages in drinking water affecting over 2.57 million people and their livestock, FAO said.

"The ongoing drought is potentially a very serious problem," the Rome-based agency's alert said, adding that the main affected provinces -- around 5.16 million hectres -- represent two-thirds of national wheat production.

On Monday, the FAO warned that floods and heavy rain across southern Africa have damaged thousands of hectares (acres) of farmland, raising fears for food supplies.

World food prices reached their highest level ever recorded in January and are set to keep rising for months, the agency said last week, warning that the hardest-hit countries could face turmoil.

Rising food prices have been cited among the driving forces behind recent popular revolts in north Africa, including the uprising in Egypt and the ouster of Tunisia's president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after a 23-year rule.

And in its latest survey, FAO said its index which monitors monthly price changes for a variety of staples averaged 231 points in January -- the highest level since records began in 1990.
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6 comments // Severe winter drought threatens China's crops

  • Dusty_King
    • 0
      Dusty_King  

    • A severe winter drought is threatening crop production in China, the world's biggest wheat provider, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in an alert issued Tuesday.

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  

    • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBGsxn_lvX4

      We are heading for a period of great global social upheaval. And those who think climate change ( or what I call biodistress) is not the one of the main reasons for it, you have your head buried too deep in the sand... or too far up your... well you know.

      And you see in this video why drought continues. Look how people water crops with the water they have. Totally wasteful. Maybe we should stop spending trillions on wars and use it to conserve water.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • http://current.com/news/92950976_bejing-to-set-snow-free-record-as-water-scarcit...

      Sunday was the capital city's 84th snow-free day this winter, making it the longest winter period without snow in Beijing since records began 60 years ago.

      And there is no sign of snow falling in Beijing in the next 10 days, which means the city is unlikely to enjoy a "white" Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 3, according to local meteorologists.

      However, Beijing residents can expect warmer weather for the start of the Spring Festival with the temperature rising to 7 C during the day, said Sun Jisong, a leading forecaster with Beijing meteorological bureau.

      Since 1951, the record for the latest snowfall in Beijing was set in 1984, when it came on Jan 29. The city has now surpassed that record.

      Chen Dagang, a senior expert at the climate center of the Beijing meteorological bureau, predicted that Beijing will not see snow until the second half of February, the Beijing News reported on Sunday.

      "A whole snow-free winter has never happened in Beijing according to the records we have kept since 1951," he said.

      The dry weather has lingered in the capital for more than three months, with no effective rainfall since Oct 25.

    • 2 years ago
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