A wild Asian elephant wandered into a temporary border checkpoint in southwest China's Yunnan Province in the early hours of Friday, prompting police and auxiliary officers to evacuate to safety before the animal calmly left without causing damage.
The elephant approached the checkpoint in Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County of Pu'er, bypassed barriers and traffic cones, and eventually walked away peacefully.
Officers followed established procedures, withdrawing to safe areas and ensuring no disturbance to the elephant, personnel or facilities.
The county, located at the junction of China, Laos and Vietnam, is a key habitat for wild Asian elephants. Local checkpoints often see elephants "drop by," and officers have developed a routine response when facing such an elephant encounter.
Upon receiving alerts or spotting elephant activity, officers are expected to immediately clear the area, close access routes, and monitor the animals until they depart, before swiftly restoring order.
Wild Asian elephant strolls into border checkpoint in Yunnan
A strong El Nino is driving unusually high temperatures and slashing rainfall in India during the country's June-September monsoon season, threatening crop yields and disrupting supply chains.
In the western state of Maharashtra, the third largest by area in India, farmers are worried about their harvest prospects and delaying planting schedules.
"Half of June has passed, and the rains still haven't arrived. We're currently cultivating sugarcane. Look at the plants behind me -- they are withering because there has been no rain. And because of the dry weather, we are also having to delay planting cotton," said Jalindar Wagh, a local farmer.
The impact of delayed planting has spread to the upstream supply chain, including sales of seeds and pesticides. In Maharashtra, products that are normally in peak sales season are now straggling, and some distribution businesses have halted operations altogether.
"There has been no rain across the entire state of Maharashtra. Because of that, our seeds and pesticides are lying in stock, since farmers aren't planning to buy them. If the rains keep getting delayed, the consequences, along with inflation, will start to show," said Rajendra Wagh, a local distributor.
With this year's monsoon rainfall expected to be below normal, India's meteorological department is urging farmers to switch to crops that require less water, fearing that overuse of irrigation systems could broaden the impact.
"Agriculture is rain-dependent. If this year's monsoon -- which we expect that it will be below normal, then it will impact those farmers also. So that's why we are advising farmers to go for such crops which require less water. Agriculture impacts electricity because hydropower electricity, which depends on the flow of rivers, will also dry up, because, due to lesser amount of rainfall, it will also impact the generation of hydro electricity. So, overall impact will be devastating," said meteorologist Mahesh Palawat.
El Nino induces drought in India, weighing on agriculture
