Shipping disrupted along Yangtze as drought brings low water levels

SHIPPING services are being suspended or disrupted on the Yangtze, owing to a severe drought that has reduced water levels 40 per cent below the average recorded over the past half century.

China`s Civil Affairs Ministry was cited as saying in a statement that rain water levels from January to April in the drainage basin of the Yangtze have been 60 per cent lower than average levels over the past 50 years.


The situation is also said to be threatening power outages as the Three Gorges Dam has reduced electric power output, reports London`s Containerisation International. There has also been a suspension or reduction in shipping in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui and Shanghai.


The Yangtze Business Services has been forecasting medium to heavy rainfall between in the middle and lower reaches of the river. But it is only expected to provide limited relief, with a spokesman from the China weather bureau warning that heavy rainfall may cause landslides in some areas.


The drought has affected 6.96 million hectares of farmland in the Yangtze River region, or more than five per cent of the national farmland total, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief, said the report.