Oct 212013
 

Water-levels at Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, have dropped below 10 meters during its annual dry season. [File photo]

Water-levels at Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, have dropped below 10 meters during its annual dry season, exposing its grassland lakebed, affecting wetland vegetation growth and the over-wintering of wild fish and migratory birds, CRI Online reports.

While an official at the Jiangxi Hydrologic Bureau said that rainfall shortages in the region can be part of the reason why the levels are so low, experts have noted that, over a 50-year period, Poyang Lake’s dry season has advanced gradually over time.

The planetesimal station at the lake recorded its water-levels dropping 9.98 meters, four meters lower than the average levels for this time of year.