The water level of China’s largest freshwater lake continues to decline rapidly, breaking multiple decline records

China News Service, Nanchang, September 22 (Zhu Ying) The Jiangxi Provincial Department of Water Resources announced on the 22nd that the water level of Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, continued to decline rapidly. As of 8:00 on the 22nd, the water level of Poyang Lake’s iconic hydrological station Xingzi Station dropped from 15.55 meters to 11.29 meters, a drop of 4.26 meters in 14 days.

It is understood that this year, the water level at Xingzi Station in Poyang Lake is generally higher during the main flood season and significantly lower during other periods. At the beginning of the year, the water level continued to be lower than the same period in many years and was in a dry state. Starting from late March, the water level at Xingzi Station rose rapidly, and then dropped rapidly in mid-July. In early September, the water level rose to 15.55 meters and the water level further accelerated.

On September 21, an aerial photograph was taken of the waters at the mouth of Poyang Lake, showing obvious signs of water receding from the shore. Photo by Xu Huigang

Since September 16, the water level has fallen particularly sharply. As of 8:00 on the 22nd, the water level at Xingzi Station dropped from 13.76 meters to 11.29 meters in 6 days, with a daily drop of more than 0.4 meters and a cumulative drop of 2.47 meters. It set a record of the fastest drop of more than 0.4 meters for 5 consecutive days, 1.28 meters for 3 days, 1.68 meters for 4 days, 2.09 meters for 5 days, and 2.47 meters for 6 days. During the same period, the water surface of the lake area shrank by an average of about 160 square kilometers per day.