Yangtze to be hit by worse droughts, floods this year

The areas along the Yangtze River are likely to see more severe droughts and floods than usual this year, flood control authorities announced Monday.

During flood season this year, the river’s middle and lower reaches will see more rainfall while the upper area — except the Jinsha, Jialing, Min and Tuo rivers — will see up to 30 percent less precipitation than normal years, said Cui Jiangxue, deputy secretary-general of the Yangtze River Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

According to meteorological and hydrological forecasts, drought and floods in the river basin will occur at the same time, he said at a meeting in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province.

The headquarters urged provinces and cities along the river to track weather conditions closely and improve flood control measures.

Heavy rain along the river since January has resulted in landslides and floods in some areas.

Due to rainfall in the middle and upper reaches, the volume of water entering the Three Gorges Reservoir almost doubled to 13,000 cubic meters per second in the 24 hours starting 2 p.m. Saturday.

The water inflow began to decrease Sunday afternoon and hit 10,200 cubic meters per second at 2 p.m. Monday — a record high since 1993. The inflow of the reservoir will continue to drop Tuesday.

More than 500 ships are waiting to pass through the dam’s ship locks.