Longest river in Asia and China’s two biggest freshwater lakes at their lowest since records began, while other rivers are drying up.

Water levels in China’s largest river and its two biggest freshwater lakes are at record lows as parts of the country’s south endure historic heatwaves and drought.

At Hankou, a key monitoring point on the Yangtze River in the central city of Wuhan, the water level had dropped to 17.54 metres on Saturday – about 6 metres lower than the average in recent years. It was also the lowest level seen for this time of year since records began in 1865, the official Science and Technology Daily reported on Sunday, citing disaster response authorities.

The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia – stretching 6,300km from the Tibetan Plateau in the west to the East China Sea near Shanghai – and the region is home to about one-third of China’s population.

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