Chapter 59

“Water accumulation in the first and second canteens has not been cleared yet. Staff from the Bird Park and Tiger Park can have lunch at the third canteen at noon.”

At 12:00 PM, Zhao Chuan had just settled the emus when he received a reminder from the workgroup. Chang’an Mountain Zoo has seven canteen areas, and the third canteen is three kilometers from the Bird Park. Due to its location, Zhao Chuan quickly tidied up and, along with his colleague, drove a three-wheeled vehicle to the canteen.

“There are three Yangtze alligators in the crocodile park that got frightened. It seems like they ran outside during the heavy rain.”

“Do crocodiles fear water?”

“Acid rain— even elephants are afraid of it.”

…

At this time, more than three hundred people were in the third canteen, all discussing the damage caused by the disaster in the northern and central regions. Many animals at the zoo had been frightened, and the park planned to close until the 30th.

“Sigh.” Zhao Chuan felt down as he listened.

At 12:30, Zhao Chuan approached the counter to get his food.

“Minced meat with green beans, garlic eggplant, stir-fried king oyster mushrooms with meat,” he listed three dishes. There is a vegetable shortage now, but the zoo has a dedicated vegetable supplier. Except for the increase in dish prices, it hasn’t had much impact.

Zhao Chuan waited for the cafeteria worker to serve the rice, and saw the worker tap the spoon: “This is it.”

Only then did Zhao Chuan notice that there was only one dish available: stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. He had been focused on the situation at the park and hadn’t noticed the menu.

Five minutes later, Zhao Chuan and his colleague returned to their seats with their trays.

“It’s been freezing these days. Many vegetable greenhouses have been damaged by the cold,” his colleague mentioned the situation in Jinghe.

“How did it freeze?” Zhao Chuan asked after taking a bite of the cabbage. With less vegetation and increasing global CO2, theoretically, global temperatures should be rising.

“I heard it’s related to polar currents.” His colleague wasn’t very knowledgeable about these professional weather issues, so after chatting for a bit, they turned their attention back to the stir-fried cabbage.

The cabbage in front of them was watery and bland, and it was hard to eat.

For the next three days, the zoo changed the dishes, but most of them were stir-fried cabbage, dry-fried shredded potatoes, and employees had gone from complaining to simply accepting it. During these days, the city faced a widespread vegetable shortage. Many restaurants temporarily closed due to supply issues, and the whole city felt down.

“It’s fifteen degrees above zero here. How come it’s below zero in the north?”

“Yesterday, the lowest temperature in Kunshan was twenty-one degrees. We’re still wearing short sleeves.”

“This year’s weather is so strange.”

…

On October 7th, the average temperature in the northern and central regions was five degrees, while Longnan was nineteen degrees. Netizens, looking at the unusual temperatures, immediately launched into a discussion about the temperature anomaly.

“This shouldn’t be happening…” A netizen posted a photo of an apple tree in the northern and central regions. The tree’s trunk and leaves were covered in a thin layer of frost, and even through the screen, people could feel the cold.

“It looks worse than Longnan…” The heavy rain in Longnan had caused flooding disasters, while although there was no major flooding in the northern and central regions, some fruit trees and vegetables had been damaged by freezing, with no chance for recovery.

Netizens, with their usual curiosity, discussed the weather principles. That evening at 8:00 PM, Longxia Meteorology issued a report: [Causes of the cold wave in the northern and central regions and future climate predictions…]

According to Longxia Meteorological Station’s analysis, this cold wave is mainly related to the El Niño phenomenon and the melting of the polar glaciers. El Niño is caused by a drop in sea surface temperatures and occurs irregularly, typically every 2 to 7 years, sometimes lasting two or three years.

The melting of polar glaciers reduces sea salt concentrations, limiting the circulation in the polar regions and slowing down the warm currents in the Mohr Bay. These unusual events together led to the cold wave in the northern and central regions. Due to the mountain ranges that act as a barrier, this cold wave mainly affected areas north of the Northern and Central Mountain ranges. Longnan had already experienced a cold wave in September, but now, due to the reduced vegetation, a warming trend had emerged.

“I’m completely confused. Can the polar cold waves even affect Longxia?”

“Two days ago, international reports mentioned that the Sola Sea’s sea level had risen by two centimeters this year, matching the rise of the last fifty years.”

“The climate in the north will drop significantly this year, while Longnan will experience slight warming.”

…

Now, with the melting of the polar glaciers, different-scale cold and warm air masses are forming globally. If these air masses continue to expand, Shuilan will be subjected to more extreme weather events.

“Is it getting colder or warmer?” Some netizens were confused.

“Overall, the greenhouse effect will increase, but extreme weather can’t be ruled out.”

They opened the weather screenshots from Longxia Meteorology. There are now seven cold and warm air masses globally, with many more air masses still forming. Though they didn’t understand the air mass diagrams, they could still tell from the colorful images that the Shuilan weather was abnormal.

“After three days of boiled cabbage, I’ve finished the last piece of cabbage.”

“There are still three boxes of self-heating hot pot at home, but I’m reluctant to eat them.”

“Ahh, I want to eat meat!”

…

Netizens turned their attention to the disaster in the northern and central regions. Seven provinces in the northern and central regions were facing vegetable shortages, poultry egg shortages, meat shortages, and various other livelihood issues.

Now, the supermarket shelves of ready-to-eat meals were completely empty. Due to repairs on the Jingji and Jingliao expressways, Longbei’s poultry and meat supplies were temporarily unavailable, and the supply of materials in the disaster-stricken areas was becoming increasingly tight.

“Xiao Mi Mountain had a landslide, and the Jingji and Jingliao expressways are all blocked. It’s estimated they’ll open on the 15th.”

“Can we transport vegetables from Longnan?”

“The soil there is eroded. Do they still have vegetables?”

…

Longxia has 33 provinces affected by the disaster, and now, with the addition of the seven provinces in the northern and central regions, the number of affected provinces has reached 40. The affected areas have seen widespread vegetation erosion, and people are still making do with a little bit of vegetables, but with the loss of soil nutrients, many vegetable greenhouses are also seeing crops die off.

Starting July 10th, Longxia began implementing the [Northern Vegetables to the South] plan. The northern and central regions, along with Longbei, were the country’s vegetable baskets, but now that the northern and central regions are affected, all the pressure is on Longbei. And with the main roads from Jinghe to Longbei blocked, they want to send support… but the vegetables can’t get through!

Now, disaster relief supplies can only be transported by a few three-wheeled trucks and by air, but air transport is limited and can’t meet the demand from the seven provinces.

The northern and central regions are now being choked by the vegetable shortage.

On October 20th, the Longxia Ministry of Agriculture released the following news: [Starting from October 20th, in order to address the vegetable shortage in the northern and central regions, Longxia will mobilize lettuce, sweet potato seedlings, dried kelp, dried shrimp, and dozens of other vegetable products to Shan Province, Qin Zhuang, Jinghe, and other areas. The mobilization is expected to be completed by the 30th…]

Both Longnan and Zhongnan are disaster areas, and the northern and central regions hadn’t planned to transport vegetables from these two places. However, after reading the news, people suddenly realized that Longnan had planted lettuce in September, and now, over forty days later, the lettuce seemed to be ready for harvest?

lettuce and sweet potato seedlings were both varieties developed this year using acid rain-resistant seeds. After reading the report, everyone’s attention shifted to the dried kelp and dried shrimp. They had planted the lettuce and sweet potato seedlings… but where did these dried goods come from?