OUR China issued the first national drought warning this year as authorities scramble to control wildfires and mobilize experts to protect crops from extreme temperatures along the Yangtze River.

The “yellow warning” was issued late Thursday after weeks of extreme temperatures were recorded in many regions, from Sichuan in the southwest to Shanghai in the Yangtze Delta. Chinese authorities link the phenomena to climate change.

Poyang Lake in central Jiangxi province has shrunk to a quarter of its normal size for this time of year, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

At least 66 rivers in 34 districts in southwestern Chongqing have dried up, according to Chinese state television CCTV.

The same source added that Chongqing has received 60 percent less rain than usual this year.

Temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius on Thursday in Beibei County, north of the urban center of Chongqing, according to the China Meteorological Service.

In addition, six of the 10 hottest temperatures were recorded this morning in this province, with the thermometer in the Bishan area already approaching 39 degrees. In Shanghai, the temperature on Friday morning reached 37 degrees.

Chongqing’s infrastructure and emergency services are overwhelmed and firefighters are on high alert as fires have broken out in various mountainous and forested areas. State media also reported that there was an increase in cases of heat stroke among residents.

The provincial Department of Agriculture has set up teams of specialists to protect the most vulnerable crops and increase yields to compensate for losses expected to be caused by the heat wave.

Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Center of China (NMC) today renewed the red alert for particularly high temperatures. This is the 30th day in a row that this warning has been issued. The current heat wave is forecast to start receding from August 26.

The weather service said in its daily bulletin that last month temperatures reached or exceeded 35 degrees Celsius over an area of ​​4.5 million square kilometers, nearly half China’s area, with more than 200 weather stations recording record temperatures.

^{Sources: APE-MPE, REUTERS.}