China drought poses impact on environment

Beijing, June 3: A persistent drought in the central and east zone of China has had a destructive effect on the environment.

Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie at a press conference told that the drought caused a deterioration of water quality in several major lakes like Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake and Honghu Lake.

According to Li Ganjie, even the Wetland and migrant birds in these region have also suffered due to the drought, the worst to hit the region after decades. He emphasised on the fact that the sole cause of the drought was rainfall shortage. More than 1,333 hectares of wetlands at the east of Dongting Lake have dried up. In fact the drought had left the Yangtze River, China's longest river, with lowest level of rainfall since 1961.

The lingering drought has affected Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces of China. These areas have seen 40 to 60 percent less rainfall than usual.

Li said that the government has always kept a watch on construction projects that might potentially have a negative impact on the environment.

OneIndia News