China Extreme Weather Event: Affected Animals, Crop Likely to Impact Country's Food Security

The recent reports explained that the extreme weather events in China, from drought conditions and heatwaves, significantly impacted food security.

Recently, Nature World News reported that Shangai recorded one of the record-breaking heat in May that managed to shatter the city's heat record in over 100 years.

The high heat unfolded in the Xuhu district.

The challenging and soaring temperatures in Shanghai had about 36.1 degrees Celcius, shattering the 35.7 degrees Celcius in May 1876.

Furthermore, recent reports from the Guardian explained that high temperatures also emerged in parts of China, especially in Wuhan.

According to the Guardian, the country's weather bureau explained that China could experience extreme weather events this 2023.

The report explained that a freshwater lake in China in Poyang also suffered from drought conditions, with water at a record low.

Extreme weather events in China

(Photo : by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Poyang Lake in Juijiang, China's central Jiangxi province. The latest report revealed that China's drought conditions, heatwaves and extreme weather events impacted animals and crops that could potentially impact food security.

Based on the AccuWeather and CNN reports, the report explained that China experienced drought conditions and challenging heatwaves last year.

In July 2022, CNN Business reported that the heatwaves in China caused about 84 cities to be under red alert warnings due to the scorching heat.

As the country began to recover from the lockdowns and COVID-19 pandemic, the report explained that the country's heat waves threatened to result in power outages and pork prices to soar.

Last year, the World Meteorological Organization's report explained that climate change and extreme weather impact China's population.

The report added the possible vulnerability of China's economy to the impacts of climate change.

Furthermore, the report said that the drought conditions were also a significant problem in China, adding that about 5.527 million people were affected.

Due to the impact of extreme weather events, the report explained the importance of mitigation and urgent action to address the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Meanwhile, a recent Reuters report explained that southern regions in China had to brace for the persistent challenging heat.

In parts of Chongqing and Sichuan, the report explained that the decline in rainfall affected the hydropower supplies in the region and business operations.

The report also noted that China's northern regions could deal with the troublesome floods.

Impact on animals and crops

The latest CNN article showed that the hot temperatures impacted the animals, including rabbits, fish and pigs.

Also Read: Shanghai's Challenging Heat Wave in May Records Highest Temperature in More Than 100 Years

The possible effect of drought and flooding could significantly affect the supply of food and crop production in China.

According to the reports, the extreme heat likely resulted in the deaths of animals:

The report noted that the South of China Today newspapers reported that the soaring weather likely killed the fish in the area.
In Jiangsu province and Sichuan, the report showed that farm animals also suffered from the extreme heat, affecting the pigs and rabbits.
The report also said crops were impacted after heavy rain unloaded in Henan in May. Wheat fields were flooded, affecting the crops and harvest.