The scorching heat in China’s central and eastern regions since July has caused problems for farmers while heavy rain in the north is further complicating grain production.

The National Meteorological Center issued a heat alert yesterday ahead of areas in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces in the east, the central provinces of Hubei and Hunan, and Chongqing in the southwest seeing the mercury rise to 40-42 degrees Celsius.

It was the 19th straight day the center had issued an orange alert for high temperatures, the second in a three-tier system.

Official data showed droughts caused by the heat have affected millions of hectares of farmland and the growth of crops.

Weather authorities say the current heat wave will only linger until the middle of the month but the droughts may extend to the end of August as rain expected in the final 10 days of the month may be insufficient.

“We are growing more than 660 mu (44 hectares) of rice, but more than 400 mu will not yield anything,” said Li Yaosheng, Party secretary of Xinglong Village in Hunan Province, a major rice production region.

A survey by grain business website cngrain.com showed similar cases were found in the neighboring provinces of Hubei and Jiangxi.

Drought-relief authorities in Hunan said more than 20 million mu of farmland will be affected if the current drought continued.

In contrast to conditions in the south, China’s northern regions have seen more rain than usual this summer. Rainstorms hit Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei and Shandong provinces on Sunday, with precipitation in some spots exceeding 10 centimeters.

The national weather center says heavy thunderstorms with rain and hail will hit some areas in the northeast, including Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces, from today until Thursday.

“The weather conditions this year are not particularly beneficial to grain production,” said Li Guoxiang, a rural development researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Li said the impact of the drought on grain output in south China may be limited because the northeastern regions, rather than the south, have become the top contributor to the nation’s grain harvest in recent years.

“If the floods in the northeast continues, I am afraid it will have a worse impact,” Li said.

Weather disasters have triggered concerns the grain market will fall victim to speculation from both home and abroad.

However, Li predicted that grain prices will not see broad rises, given that the current grain supply-demand is well balanced globally and China can also adjust itself via the international market.

Li also said grain stocks at home were at a high level, which weakened the possibility of speculation.

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