Chinese meteorologists on Friday denied that the Three Gorges
Project was linked to the severe drought, the worst in 50 years,
that is ravaging western areas of China.
Dong Wenjie, director of the climate research centre under the
China Meteorological Administration, said in Beijing that there is
no relation between the current drought and the Three Gorges
Project, China's largest hydro-power project.
The global greenhouse effect is the chief reason for droughts,
especially in upper latitude regions of the northern hemisphere, he
said. China's Chongqing Municipality and Sichuan Province, the worst-hit areas, are
located in these regions.
According to the expert, the global greenhouse effect had led to
rising temperatures, abnormal climate change and severe drought, as
well as a series of social problems, such as drought-triggered
poverty.
The direct reason for the drought in western China is the impact
of abnormal air movements over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the
expert said.
Caused by booming human activities, deforestation and industrial
projects in urban areas, the heat island effect around big cities
also plays a role in producing the hot weather and rising
temperatures. The heat island effect around Chengdu, capital of
Sichuan Province, and Chongqing has partly led to a dry summer and
a lack of rainfall.
According to experts at meteorological stations of Sichuan and
Chongqing, constant typhoons, which have landed in coastal areas in
southern and eastern China this summer, have prevented the entry of
cold air fronts into the Sichuan Basin.
Without cold air, the basin is covered solely by high-pressure
currents and has no chance to produce rainfall, experts said.
The dry weather over the basin will continue until August 20 due
to a lack of moisture in the air currents.
The Three Gorges Project will not produce any negative influence
on the local atmosphere, said Liu De, director of Chongqing
municipal meteorological station.
(China Daily August 19, 2006)