China warns of crop risks as heatwave sweeps agricultural regions

[HONG KONG] China’s corn, rice and cotton fields are at heightened risk of crop damage in the coming days as a heatwave sweeps through key agricultural regions in the country’s north and east.

High pressure weather systems will lead to hotter-than-normal conditions this week, according to commercial forecaster Vaisala, with Shenyang in the northeastern province of Liaoning seeing highs of 35 to 38 degree Celsius through Thursday (Aug 6).

Beijing will hit the low- to mid-30 degree Celsius range into the weekend.

The provincial climate centre for Shandong, which accounts for 10 per cent of China’s corn production, warned last week that sustained temperatures in the mid- to high- 30 degree Celsius range through at least Wednesday may crimp yields of the summer corn crop.

High humidity caused by moist monsoonal flows could also raise the risk of crop diseases, it added.

Further north, officials in Liaoning – which contributes some 7 per cent of national corn output – have also expressed concern.

“Major crops such as corn and rice are currently in their critical growth stages, and soil moisture loss is accelerating on sloping hills and sandy areas,” the city government of Jinzhou, a city in the province, said on Jul 31.

Separately, Vaisala meteorologist Kyle Tapley also said there was potential for heat stress on corn and soybean crops in Liaoning and Inner Mongolia.

Scorching heat is set to take hold in Xinjiang too, the autonomous region of northwest China where almost all of the country’s cotton is grown.

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In an early warning notice last week, the regional climate centre forecast widespread temperatures of at least 35 degree Celsius through Aug 11, with Turpan, southeast of the regional capital Urumqi, hitting as high as 50 degree Celsius.

“Sustained high temperatures could negatively impact corn grain filling, cotton boll growth and fruit enlargement, leading to stunted development, sunburn and premature ripening,” the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Climate Center said in a bulletin.

The ongoing heat and drought may cut Xinjiang’s cotton production by as much as 5 per cent in August, according to commercial forecaster Marcus Weather.

Not only China has been affected by the latest heat wave. In South Korea, the highest temperature on record – 42.5 degree Celsius – was reported over the weekend in the southeastern city of Yangsan.

Fruit enlargement has slowed somewhat at some pear orchards in Ulsan, while fruit shrivelling occurred at some grape orchards with poor drainage, according to a statement by the Rural Development Administration of South Korea.

While the north of China swelters, the country’s southern provinces – where soils are already saturated from weeks of wetter-than-normal weather – are set to see rains drag on in the coming days.

In particular, Guangdong and Guangxi are set to see heavy rain this week, heightening the risk of rice blast disease in the south of the country, the China Meteorological Administration said in a bulletin published over the weekend. BLOOMBERG