58 000 agricultural facilities in NE China’s Liaoning affected by record snowstorms

Record snowstorms have affected 58 000 agricultural facilities in northeast China's Liaoning Province over the past few days. Local authorities said they are rushing to ensure power and food supply while repairing damages in a region heavily affected by rolling power outages in September 2021.

The province has witnessed extremely heavy snowstorms, rainfall, cold wave and strong winds from Sunday, November 7 to Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

The storms damaged more than 37 000 ha (91 500 acres) of cropland in 58 000 facilities and affected a total of 4 836 livestock farms.¹

By Tuesday, Liaoning capital Shenyang logged an average snowfall of 51 mm (2 inches) and a maximum snow depth of 41 cm (16 inches), the highest level recorded since 1905, local meteorological authorities have said.²

The powerful cold wave has already resulted in a total of 27 red alerts for heavy blizzards, the highest warning level in China's meteorological system, in four provincial-level regions including North China's Inner Mongolia and Northeast China's Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces.^{3, 4}

Temperatures had plummeted by 10 to 14 °C (18 to 25 °F) in most areas, and by more than 16 °C (29 °F) in certain areas, compared to five days ago.

Amid public concerns over power shortages posed by the blizzard, local governments in north China have made all-out efforts to keep homes warm, Xinhua reports.²

The average coal storage rate at Liaoning's heating enterprises is currently over 60%. The provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang are also working to increase their energy production capacities and increase coal imports.

To avoid vegetable price hikes influenced by the extreme weather, Shenyang has urged markets and grocery stores in the city to set the prices of several vegetables lower than the overall average and increase their supplies of vegetables.

References:

¹ Record snowstorms affect 58,000 agricultural facilities in NE China’s Liaoning – Global Times

² North China steels itself against record blizzard – Xinhua

³ China: North-eastern city sees highest snowfall in 116 years – BBC

⁴ Major early-season snowstorm hits northern China – The Watchers

Featured image credit: CGTN