The Yangtze, China's longest river, is gripped by a rare drought
this summer with water in many sections of the river at
historically low levels.
The Yangtze River Hydrological Bureau said that, in August, the
volume of water entering the Three Gorges Reservoir, in the middle
reaches of the river, was only 8,400 cubic meters per second, about
the same as the February dry season.
The bureau's monitoring station in Yichang City, Hubei Province, home to the Three Gorges Reservoir,
the world's largest hydro-power project, said the local
hydrological figure set a new low record.
River navigation authorities have reinforced patrols and
assistance operations along the waterway, warnings vessels against
running aground.
Flood control experts say that the river's flood season will end
in a month. Despite the current drought, summer or even autumn
flooding is still a possibility.
Weather forecasts offer little hope of rainfall in the next few
days in the upper and middle reaches of the river, including Sichuan, Hubei provinces and Chongqing Municipality, where farming is
suffering from the blistering drought.
Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality is suffering the worst
drought of the past 50 years. Water supplies for nearly 7.5 million
people have been threatened, local authorities said Monday.
To date, more than 19 million mu (1.3 million hectares) of
cropland have been affected and more than 6.8 million head of
livestock are facing temporary water shortages, according to a
spokesman with the Chongqing Municipal Disaster Relief Office.
"Two thirds of the communities and townships in the municipality
have reported water supply difficulties," he said.
The drought has caused direct economic losses of about 2.5
billion yuan (US$312.5 million), including nearly 1.8 billion yuan
(US$225 million) in the agricultural sector, he said.
The drought struck Chongqing in early July, 10 to 15 days
earlier than in past years. But in total the dry spell has lasted
for more than 50 days in most areas in the municipality, and 70
days in some, the spokesman said.
Since July, there have been 13 to 24 high temperature days in
most parts of Chongqing, with maximum temperatures of 38 to 40
degrees Celsius, he said.
Prolonged high temperatures and scarce rain have dried out two
thirds of the rivers in the municipality, said a spokesman with
Chongqing Waterway Bureau.
In neighboring Sichuan Province, the drought has made it
difficult for more than 3 million people and 4 million livestock to
access drinking water. Meanwhile, nearly 21 million mu (1.4 million
hectares) of cropland have been affected, or 39 percent of the
total in the drought-hit areas.
The drought has caused direct economic losses of more than 7
billion yuan (US$8.75 billion), according to the provincial
disaster relief office.
"Sichuan is suffering its worst drought since 1972," said Zhang
Shilin, director of the office responsible for artificially
influencing weather.
In a bid to relieve the drought, Sichuan will trigger artificial
rain in 12 cities, including the provincial capital of Chengdu, if
weather conditions permit, Zhang said.
Local governments in the drought-affected areas have allocated
funds to help residents tap ground water and improve water
conservation facilities.
Government departments concerned have been asked to make daily
reports on the drought situation.
(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2006)