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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Davidson in Taipei

China issues alert as drought and heatwave put crops at risk

A farmer in Chongqing shows his dead sweet potato plants after his crops perished amid the drought.
A farmer in Chongqing shows his dead sweet potato plants after his crops perished amid the drought. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters

A drought in China is threatening food production, prompting the government to order local authorities to take all available measures to ensure crops survive the hottest summer on record.

On Tuesday, four government departments issued an urgent joint emergency notice, warning that the autumn harvest was under “severe threat”. It urged local authorities to ensure “every unit of water … be used carefully”, and called for methods included staggered irrigation, the diversion of new water sources, and cloud seeding.

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