The source water of the Yellow River has dwindled by 23 percent
more in the past ten years than the average level in the previous
40 years in northwest China's Qinghai
Province, environmental officials said Saturday.
The provincial Water Resource Department has been monitoring the
source water and attributed the water changes to environmental
degradation at the river head.
The river head area of the Yellow River failed to conserve as
much water as before due to a degenerated environment and global
climate change, said Han Yongrong, an expert with the
department.
Statistics provided by the department show that the average
water volume from 1991 to 2002 is about 23 percent less than the
average level in the previous 40 years, and the water volume is
still dwindling.
In the past two years, Qinghai has observed rich rainfall and
some areas even received 40 percent more water than the average in
the previous years. But the rich water did not stop the water
shrinkage at the river head.
This indicated the soil could not conserve as much water as
before, Han said.
"The situation is already severe in the rich water season and
will be even worse in the low water season," he said.
Source water for the Yangtze River and Lancang River has
dwindled by between 10 percent to 4 percent and 4 percent to 7
percent respectively in the past few years, according to
environment officials.
Qinghai in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the source
of Yellow, Yangtze and Lancang rivers, the three major rivers in
China.
(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2005)