The Jiangxi provincial government in China issued a red alert for water supply on September 23 for the first time, as water levels in Poyang Lake—the largest lake in China—dropped to a record low.
Poyang Lake (China) has reached a record low water level recently. (Photo: Reuters).
Poyang Lake has been facing drought conditions since June, according to Reuters. At a key monitoring station, water levels have plummeted from 19.43 meters to just 7.1 meters over the past three months.
Officials in Jiangxi state that the water level in Poyang Lake—also a water source for the Yangtze River—will continue to decline in the coming days due to low rainfall. Rainfall in July this year was only 60% of that in 2021.
The Yangtze River basin is experiencing a severe drought, impacting both hydropower production and agricultural yields. At the end of August, Sichuan Province and the city of Chongqing faced record drought and heat conditions, with temperatures reaching as high as 45 degrees Celsius in some areas.
Many factories in these two provinces have had to shut down due to power shortages, while residents are also enduring rolling blackouts.
Now, while the southwestern region of China has received some rainfall, the central part of the country continues to suffer from drought. In Jiangxi, the drought has persisted for over 70 days, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, 10 reservoirs in Anhui Province have fallen below the “dead water level” and are no longer able to release water downstream, as reported by local irrigation authorities.
According to the Chinese meteorological agency, the drought is expected to continue in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the coming period.
