‘China drought has significant impact on environment’
June 3rd, 2011 - 5:19 pm ICT by IANSBeijing, June 3 (IANS) 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.
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Tags: anhui, china drought, dongting lake, east china, gorges dam, hunan, jiangsu, longest river, migrant birds, noticeable decline, poyang lake, rainfall, significant impact, three gorges, vice minister, water levels, xinhua, yangtze river, yangtze river china, zhejiang provinces