A lingering drought in central and east
China's provinces has had a devastating impact on the environment
there, an official said Friday.
Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie said here
that the drought has caused the deterioration of water quality in
several major lakes.
The drought has led to the sharp reduction of water levels in major
lakes such as Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and Honghu Lake, reported
Xinhua.
Monitoring statistics showed that water quality in these lakes saw a
noticeable decline in March and April, compared to the same period last
year, according to Li.
Wetlands and migrant birds in these regions have also suffered from the drought, the worst to hit the region in decades.
Over 1,333 hectares of wetlands located east of Dongting Lake have
dried up. The drought has left the Yangtze River, China's longest
river, with its lowest levels of rainfall since 1961.
Li denied that the drought was aggravated by the river's Three Gorges
Dam and instead stressed that a shortage of rainfall caused it.
The drought has affected parts of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui,
Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, which are located near the middle and
lower reaches of the Yangtze River. These areas have seen 40 to 60
percent less rainfall than usual. IANS
