Severe drought could continue into next month

China warned that severe drought conditions along the Yangtze River, its largest waterway and home to its top hydropower station, could last well into next month, as local governments race to maintain power and find fresh water to irrigate crops ahead of the autumn harvest.

A severe heatwave across the basin of the Yangtze, caused by a larger-than-usual Western Pacific subtropical high, has now lasted more than two months.

In other parts of China, heavy rainfall continues to take its toll. Flooding in the western province of Qinghai killed 16 people, state media reported yesterday.