Xinjiang farmers take steps to protect livestock from heat wave

Farms have taken measures to protect livestock from extreme heat in Luntai County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The county has been hit by a prolonged heatwave in recent days, with temperatures soaring to 42 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

To help livestock cool down, local farmers have applied mist-spray cooling and added anti-heat supplements to drinking water and feed to prevent appetite loss and weakened immunity caused by the heat.

"We've upgraded the ventilation in our pens, keeping the air curtains open all day. We also spray mist twice a day during peak heat hours, lasting four hours in total. Those measures can lower the body temperature of cattle and sheep by about 5 degrees Celsius," said Wang Xin, head of a local farm.

Meanwhile, the county's animal husbandry department has sent technical teams to farms to offer assistance, aiming to ensure the safety of 519,000 head of livestock during the summer heat.

Substantial progress was made during the China-UK technical consultations on a joint feasibility study for a services trade agreement, held in London from June 30 to July 1.

The two sides agreed to speed up the remaining work and complete the study at an early date.

In January this year, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to formally launch the joint feasibility study on a China-UK services trade agreement.

Before the meeting, the two sides had held two rounds of online technical consultations to exchange views on issues related to the study.