Radio Taiwan International
Date: 10 December, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

.Across much of Taiwan, low rainfall means that reservoir levels have fallen to seriously low levels. With little chance of much natural rainfall before the year’s end, officials are turning to artificial means to help ease the water crunch.

Mingde Reservoir in Miaoli County is running dry, with just 16.46% of its capacity filled up. At Nantou County’s Wushe Reservoir and Tainan’s Baihe Reservoir, thing are even worse: water levels there have fallen to below 15% capacity.

It needs to rain, but forecasters say the overall chance of rain nationwide before the end of the year is less than 10%.

Already, farmers are hurting. Irrigation of paddies for the second rice crop of the year has been suspended across much of northern Taiwan, and if at least 320mm of rain doesn’t fall before the end of December, it’s likely that irrigation for the first harvest next year will be scrapped, hurting yields.    [FULL  STORY]