Forecast for later this week is rain. And a fair amount of it too. That’s a relief, for while a deluge has come to southern China the past few days, some extreme measures have been implemented of late in Jiangsu to prevent one of the biggest droughts ever.
预计本周晚些时候有雨。而且也有相当数量。这让人松了一口气，因为虽然过去几天中国南方发生了洪水，但江苏最近采取了一些极端措施，以防止有史以来最严重的干旱之一。
The last month, in particular, has seen precipitation levels reach their lowest for over half a century in some parts. The Huaibei region of Jiangsu, essentially comprising Xuzhou, Lianyungang and Suqian, has reported rainfall as being 40-80 percent less than in previous years for the period since 1 April.
特别是上个月，一些地区的降水量达到了半个多世纪以来的最低水平。江苏淮北地区（主要包括徐州、连云港和宿迁）自4月1日以来降雨量比往年减少了40%至80%。
Ground zero for the drought is without doubt Xuzhou. There, in Pei County and Suining County, rainfall during that same period has been the least since 1961. Xuzhou launched a city-wide, level-4 emergency response to the drought on 13 May.
干旱归零地无疑是徐州。其中，沛县、睢宁县同期降雨量为1961年以来最少。5月13日，徐州启动全市干旱四级应急响应。
Overall, cumulative precipitation for the Huaibei region since May amounts to just 25.8 mm, some 73 percent less than the same period in previous years. Meanwhile, waters flowing in the upper reaches of the River Huai River amount to 650 million cubic metres. That’s down a lot too, some 62 percent.
总体来看，5月以来淮北地区累计降水量仅为25.8毫米，比常年同期减少73%左右。与此同时，淮河上游流域水量达6.5亿立方米。这个数字也下降了很多，大约下降了 62%。
And highlighting the particularly-serious drought situation is the fact that there is basically no water in both the Yishu and Si Rivers, as the Yangtze Evening News reports.
据《长江晚报》报道，沂沭河和泗河基本断水，这凸显了干旱形势尤为严重。
So what’s being done about the drought in northern Jiangsu?
那么针对苏北地区的干旱，我们采取了什么措施呢？
That’s where the Jiangsu Provincial Water Resources Department comes in. Over the past month, it has activated the Yangtze River’s Northward and Eastward Diversion projects.
这就是江苏省水利厅的作用。在过去的一个月里，它启动了长江北调东调工程。
Together, they have drawn 3.26 billion cubic metres of water from the Yangtze, to replenish Hongze Lake, Luoma Lake and the Shilianghe Reservoir.
共从长江取水32.6亿立方米，补充洪泽湖、骆马湖和石梁河水库。
Emergency-water supply measures have also been implemented, with their use carefully “planned”. That’s one stop short of being rationed. Authorities are also seeking to reassure the public that every effort is being made to ensure sufficient water for urban life, key industries and shipping.
紧急供水措施也已实施，其使用也经过精心“规划”。这距离配给还差一站。当局还试图让公众放心，他们正在尽一切努力确保城市生活、关键工业和航运有足够的用水。
But while we spend the next couple of days looking forward to rain, for once, it is also worth remembering that we have been here before, and not so long ago. September of 2022 saw parts of Shiju Lake in Nanjing become as dry as a bone, while local reservoirs were also all but completely emptied.
不过，虽然我们在接下来的几天里期待着下雨，但这一次，也值得记住我们以前来过这里，而且是不久前。 2022年9月，南京石菊湖部分地区干涸如骨头，当地水库也几乎全部干涸。
This is, after all, why we have them. And why they are about to receive a good topping up as the rest of this week plays out.
毕竟，这就是我们拥有它们的原因。以及为什么他们将在本周剩下的时间里得到很好的补充。
