Scientists discover ancient cave in China with drawings charting five centuries of climate data that predict a grim fate

There has long been concern that the world’s biggest water diversion project in China was built in the wrong place and at the wrong time. And the warning signs have been around for so long that scientists have even found them in cave inscriptions dating back five centuries.

In a paper just published in the journal Scientific Reports, an international team led by Dr Tan Liangcheng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Earth Environment describes the Dayu cave and watering hole in the Qin mountain range of Shaanxi province, where many ancient inscriptions line the walls and ceilings.

Starting from 1520, local people frequented the cave, especially in droughts, to fetch water and pray for rain. Some wrote lines describing what was happening at the time with exact dates and names.

To scientists studying the ancient climate for clues to understand today’s climate change, these cave writings contain rare and valuable data for the region.

The Qin mountains are important, not only for providing one of the last refuges for the wild giant panda, but as a water source for the Danjiangkou reservoir in Hubei province.

The giant reservoir, in turn, provides water for the middle route of the South-North Water Transfer Project, a US$62 billion project that will eventually divert 45 billion cubic metres of water a year from the Yangtze river, in southern China, to the Yellow River basin in the arid north.