WATER SHORTAGE HITS CHINA DURING WORST HEAT WAVE

China, too, is facing a water shortage during the worst heat wave on record but it’s working on bringing rainfall to dried-up parts, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

From aircraft it is firing silver iodide rods (the size of cigarettes) into clouds to help form ice crystals, reports CNN. The crystals then help clouds produce rain. 

 

China's Ministry of Water Resources mentions drought throughout the Yangtze river basin is "adversely affecting drinking water security of rural people and livestock, and the growth of crops.”

 

Several regions on the Yangtze have launched weather modification programs.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

FLOAT PLANE ENTERS NEW YORK-D.C. SERVICE.  A new way to travel between New York City and Washington, D.C., is by float plane.  Using eight-seat Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, Tailwind Air will start two daily flights between the Skyport Marina near East 23rd Street in Manhattan and  College Park Airport just outside D.C.  The plane will take off from water in New York and land on the runway at Suburban D.C. airport in College Park, Maryland.  Flight time will be between 80-90 minutes and cost $395 one-way.

 

PANDEMIC TRIGGERS RECKLESS DRIVING.  The pandemic has triggered an upswing in reckless behavior on the road.  Crashes in 2021 were up 10.5 percent from the prior year. An estimated 9,560 people died in crashes in the first three months this year.  That’s equivalent to a death every 13 minutes.

 

MONKEY DIALS 911.  The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office was surprised to learn a monkey at the Zoo to You in Paso Robles called 911.   Deputies were dispatched to the zoo.  Seems that Route, a capuchin monkey, picked up the zoo’s cellphone from a golf cart and dialed 911.

AMERICAN AIRLINES ORDERS SUPERSONIC JETS.  American Airlines orders 20 supersonic jets for future faster travel.  The jets are in the drawing board phase, years away from production and flying. “Looking to the future, supersonic travel will be an important part of our ability to deliver for our customers,” says Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr.

 

TERRIER ALERTS OWNERS ON HOUSE FIRE.  In Maryland, a Cairn terrier turns out to be a hero in alerting his owners on a house fire.  He barks until the family wakes up and escapes the blaze that destroyed the home.

 

CONDE NAST REVENUE GROWS.  While most digital publishers are forecasting slowdowns in advertising growth, Condé Nast this year expects to exceed the nearly $2 billion in total revenue it saw in 2021 thanks to continued growth in its advertising business, informs Axios.