China attempts to artificially induce rain as rivers run at record low levels

China has been forced to artificially induce rain as the mighty Yangtze River is running at extremely low water levels due to an unprecedented heatwave that has hit parts of the country.

About a third of the country's population relies on the Yangtze for its needs. If the situation does not improve, the country may face a severe water shortage in the coming months.

The country is also facing its worst heatwave in more than 60 years. High temperatures have caused drought-like situations in several parts of the country, including in the Yangtze basin.

"The heat wave this time is prolonged, wide in scope, and strong in extremity. Taken all signs together, the heat wave in China will continue and its intensity will increase," read a statement from the National Climate Centre.

To deal with these conditions, the country has resorted to the cloud seeding program, in which silver iodide rods are fired into the clouds to make them rain. The technique can also be used to induce snowfall and soften hail.

The drought throughout the river basin was "adversely affecting the drinking water security of rural people and livestock, and the growth of crops," the Ministry of Water Resources said in a statement on Wednesday.

This is not the first time China has been forced to deal with drought-like conditions by using artificial methods. The practise has been in existence since the 1940s. China, in fact, has the biggest cloud seeding programme in the world.

It used seeding right before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, so the weather remained dry during the event, per a CNN report.

Over 150,000 people in the country already lack access to clean drinking water due to the dire situation caused by the heatwave. The high temperatures have also destroyed 400,000 hectares of crops.

In recent years, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports have also claimed that China is one of the countries that could be hardest hit by global warming.

Climate change has already started to affect people and their sources of livelihood. Forest fires, droughts, flash floods, and heatwaves have become more frequent. The Yangtze is just one of many rivers that have run almost dry due to extremely high temperatures. Several rivers and lakes have been experiencing the same in countries like the US, the UK, Italy and Germany among others.