2010 China drought and dust storms

The 2010 China drought and dust storms were a series of severe droughts during the spring of 2010 that affected Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Hebei and Gansu in the People's Republic of China as well as parts of Southeast Asia including Vietnam and Thailand, and dust storms in March and April that affected much of East Asia.

[5] Spring dust storms are common in China, but have become more severe in recent years due to desertification, deforestation, drought, urban sprawl and overgrazing.

[6] Countries downstream from Yunnan are also affected by drought conditions upriver, and some places including much of Vietnam have seen very little precipitation since the previous September.

[1] Commodities including sugar cane, flowers, tea, fruit, potatoes, rapeseed, medicinal ingredients, tobacco, wheat,[8] rubber and coffee have been severely affected with output reduced by as much as 50%.

Authorities began to fear unrest due to soaring food prices[3] and sent more than 10,000 armed police to the affected regions to ensure stability and help with water supplies.

The Red River near Hanoi was by early March at a level of 0.68 m (2.2 ft), the lowest on record, and rice plantations have been severely affected.

The Mekong Delta experienced its lowest water levels in nearly 20 years, threatening to produce saltwater intrusion in dry areas.

[15] The El Niño conditions of the winter prior to the drought has raised concerns that the rice crop in Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines may be significantly reduced by the summer.

[18] Premier Wen Jiabao visited southwestern China three times during the drought, including a three-day tour in mid-March in Yunnan, including Luliang County, which had seen no rainfall since August, to promote water conservation,[5] and another visit in early April 2010 to several Miao and Buyei autonomous prefectures in Guizhou, some of the worst-hit places where farming has been made impossible.

[20] Strong dust storms from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia hit Xinjiang Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, North Korea and Japan by March 22, before being carried across the Pacific Ocean by the jet stream, with some dust reaching the West Coast of the United States.

[24] A strong sandstorm tore through Turpan in Xinjiang on April 23, sparking fires that killed two people and forcing a shutdown of rail and road traffic for six hours.

[32] In mid-June 2010, a large algal bloom, consisting of enteromorpha algae, developed off the coast of Shandong, in the Yellow Sea.