Drought Caused 'Historic' Global Hydropower Drop in Early 2023

Water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in central China's Hubei province, in 2020. STR / AFP/File
Water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in central China's Hubei province, in 2020. STR / AFP/File
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Drought Caused 'Historic' Global Hydropower Drop in Early 2023

Water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in central China's Hubei province, in 2020. STR / AFP/File
Water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in central China's Hubei province, in 2020. STR / AFP/File

Dry conditions, particularly in China, caused a "historic" global drop in hydropower generation in the first half of 2023, a new analysis shows, highlighting the effects of climate change.

The research by renewable energy think tank Ember argues the drop is a "warning shot that hydro output could negatively affect the speed of the electricity transition".

The group said global hydropower generation fell 8.5 percent in the year to June, more than any full-year decline over the last two decades, AFP said.

Three-quarters of that decline was the result of falls in China, which baked through record temperatures earlier this year.

Between winter 2022 and spring 2023, most areas of southwest China experienced significantly less precipitation and higher temperatures than in a normal year, according to Beijing's ministry of emergency management.

The fall in hydropower output meant global carbon emissions rose very slightly in the first half of 2023, despite a 12-percent increase in solar and wind power worldwide.

Lower growth in electricity demand helped keep the rise in emissions smaller than it might otherwise have been, Ember said in the report released Thursday.

China, however, saw its emissions rise nearly eight percent as it compensated for the loss of hydropower.

But while the extreme heat and drought conditions that caused this year's decline may have been driven by climate change, the think tank warned it remains hard to calculate future effects.

The consequences of "climate change on hydro potential are geographically varied", the group noted.

"Changes in rainfall patterns and intensity as well as increased evaporation will affect hydro output both positively and negatively depending on the region."

Some parts of central Africa, India, central Asia and northern high latitudes could see their potential to generate hydropower increase.

But in southern Europe, the southern United States and elsewhere, it is likely to weaken.

The chief of this year's COP climate meeting has called for a global tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

And the International Energy Agency last month projected fossil fuel demand will peak by 2030.

But wind and solar generation grew more slowly in the first half of this year than in the same period last year, reflecting the fragility of gains in the sector.

"While it is encouraging to see the remarkable growth of wind and solar energy, we can't ignore the stark reality of adverse hydro conditions intensified by climate change," said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, Ember's senior electricity analyst.

"The world is teetering at the peak of power sector emissions, and we now need to unleash the momentum for a rapid decline in fossil fuels by securing a global agreement to triple renewables capacity this decade."



China Snow Village Apologizes for Fake Cotton Snow 

People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
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China Snow Village Apologizes for Fake Cotton Snow 

People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 

A tourist village in China's southwestern province of Sichuan famed for its scenic snow landscape said it was sorry for using cotton wool and soapy water to create fake snow after online criticism from visitors went viral.

In a post on its official Wechat account on February 8, the Chengdu Snow Village project said during the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, the weather was warm and the snow village did not take shape as anticipated.

China is facing hotter and longer heat waves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the country's weather bureau has warned.

"In order to create a 'snowy' atmosphere the tourist village purchased cotton for the snow...but it did not achieve the expected effect, leaving a very bad impression on tourists who came to visit," the Chengdu Snow Village project said in the statement.

After receiving feedback from the majority of netizens, the tourist area began to clean up all the snow cotton.

The village said it "deeply apologizes" for the changes and that tourists could get a refund. The site has since been closed.

Photos on Wechat showed large cotton wool sheets strewn about the grounds, only partially covering leafy areas. A thick snow layer appeared to blanket the houses in the zone but as you got closer, it was all cotton, said one netizen.

"A snow village without snow," said another user.

"In today's age of well-developed Internet, scenic spots must advertise truthfully and avoid deception or false advertising, otherwise they will only shoot themselves in the foot."