Focus on Arts and Ecology

August 12, 2022 

A massive heatwave is scorching many parts of China, however, weather authorities have said it's likely to linger in much of the Sichuan Basin and south of the Yangtze River for another week. The searing days have even burnt tea leaves and turned unpicked grapes into raisins!

China is also facing the seventh typhoon of 2022 named Mulan. China activated a level-IV emergency response on Tuesday when Mulan approached southern coastal areas. China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with level I being the most severe.

In other worlds:

·         Water levels of the Rhine River, a major transport artery in Europe, are expected to drop below a critical depth over the weekend, threatening to further compound the region's energy woes

·         France is suffering its fourth heatwave of the year, with some areas set to hit 40 degrees Celsius over the next three days. The southwest region around the city of Bordeaux could see local temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius

·         Massive wildfires are raging across Europe, driven by heatwaves. In central Portugal, more than 1,500 firefighters have spent the sixth day fighting a wildfire in the central Covilha region

·         Deaths from this week's heavy rain in South Korea have risen to 13, and six people are missing

·         Farmers are trying to save as much of this year's crop from the ravages of drought and heatwave in Tuscany, the center of Italy's coveted wine and olive oil sector