Record Breaking Drought in China Causes Yangtze River to Dry Up

The record-breaking drought in China has caused some rivers like the Yangtze to dry up, which has sparked shortages in hydropower, paused shipments, and suspended work for many companies. A drought alert was issued last week in southwest China, and experts believe the drought will last far into September.

Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now/Youtube

The Yangtze is the third largest river in the entire world and is responsible for providing drinking water to over 400 million people. However, with the low levels this summer, entire sections, and tributaries have been drying up. Another major concern for the regions has been getting enough water for their crops, especially the ones that require a great deal of water, like soy and rice.

China has a hydropower system in Sichuan which gets over 80 percent of its energy from hydropower. The government in the province declared the highest warning level as water flow to the Sichuan plant dropped by half.

With the extremely hot weather, the electricity demand has skyrocketed this summer. However, the loss of hydropower is affecting cities hard. However, because of the lack of energy, vice-premier Han Zheng said that the government would Support coal-fired power production, which is horrible in the long run and goes against China’s climate commitments.

Sichuan, home to 81.1 million people, announced last week that they would be suspending and limiting power supply to thousands of factories, including Toyota and Tesla as well as rationing public electricity usage.

The drought has affected at least 2.46 million people, with over 780,000 people needing government assistance due to the drought.

Cities all over the world, from California to Vietnam, are facing droughts and climate crises. Millions of people are protesting all over the world. Read more about politics and Climate change, including Manchin Restarts Talks about Climate and Social Spending Bill Previously Rejected and Climate Change Protests Take Over With Millions Continuing to Strike Across The Globe! Climate change is a top priority for young voters, and we need to care about the Green New Deal.

Climate change leads to extreme weather like droughts, floods, and fires. The single BEST thing you can do to save water is to stop eating meat and all animal products. Growing animals for livestock takes a massive amount of water. It takes nearly 660 gallons of water to just make one burger, which is equivalent to nearly two months of showering for the average person. On the other hand, it takes 1,000 gallons of water to make just one gallon of cow milk.

Studies have shown that eating more plant-based can add over a decade to your lifespan, it can save the world’s forests, it benefits the environment, and it is significantly better for your health! Nations around the world have urged people to eat more plant-based to curb climate change.

We highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes, it is the largest meatless, plant-based, vegan, and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

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