China's farmers struggle to save crops as heatwave, drought drag on

As the tinder-dry countryside along China's Yangtze river basin withers under a heatwave that has lasted more than two months, veteran farmer Chen Xiaohua recalled the last severe drought to hit his crops more than 60 years ago. "This year is drier than 1960," said Chen, 68, from his plot of land in the village of Fuyuan in the rugged rural fringes of the Chongqing region in China's southwest.

As the tinder-dry countryside along China's Yangtze river basin withers under a heatwave that has lasted more than two months, veteran farmer Chen Xiaohua recalled the last severe drought to hit his crops more than 60 years ago.

"This year is drier than 1960," said Chen, 68, from his plot of land in the village of Fuyuan in the rugged rural fringes of the Chongqing region in China's southwest. "The temperature is higher." Chen's small plot, situated close to the Yangtze river and its tributary, the Longxi, normally relies on fresh water from mountain streams, but that has dwindled to nothing in recent days, drying out his main crops, which includes sweet potato.

"In the past, at this time, August, sweet potato leaves grow very thick," said Chen, wearing a wide-brimmed hat to protect himself from the fierce sun. "From August to September, sweet potato should bloom." As many as 66 rivers across 34 counties in Chongqing have dried up, state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday as weather service data showed a district in the region to be the country's hottest, hitting 45 degrees Celsius