China just experienced its hottest August ever recorded, going back to 1961, when data compilation began. Parts of southern China have also endured months of drought conditions that have dried up rivers and lakes, including Lake Poyang—the largest freshwater lake in China—which has dwindled to 25 percent of its average size. The unusually long and intense heat wave and drought have dried up crops, forced power cuts, and altered landscapes across a broad region. Collected here are recent images from Wuhan, Chongqing, Lake Poyang, and more.
Extreme Drought in Southern China
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![Three pagodas stand atop a rock outcrop, surrounded by cracked, dry earth.]()
Read moreA view of pagodas on Louxingdun island, normally partially submerged under the water of Poyang Lake, which is experiencing low water levels due to an ongoing drought in Lushan, Jiangxi province, China, on August 24, 2022. The size of the lake normally fluctuates a great deal seasonally, but it has hit lows this year not seen in decades. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
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![Two people sit in chairs placed on a wide, dry riverbed.]()
Read moreThis photo taken on September 2, 2022, shows people sitting on a section of dry riverbed along the Yangtze River in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. #
AFP / Getty -
![A wildfire burns, seen from above, in hills above a city.]()
Read moreSmoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Banan district in Chongqing, China, on August 23, 2022. #
VCG via Getty -
![A firefighter sprays water from a hose into burning bamboo trees.]()
Read moreA firefighter combats a mountain forest fire in Dazu district in Chongqing, China, on August 22, 2022. #
VCG via Getty -
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![An aerial view of a villager walking in a dry and cracked paddy field]()
Read moreAn aerial view of a villager walking in a dry and cracked paddy field in Neijiang, Sichuan Province, on August 24, 2022. #
Huang Zhenghua / VCG via Getty -
![A field of dry, brown sesame plants]()
Read moreDrought-stricken sesame crops stand in a field in Xinyao village, Nanchang city, Jiangxi province, on August 25, 2022. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
![A man stands beneath a canopy of dried hanging plants.]()
Read moreLocal farmer Chen Xiaohua, 68, stands near a canopy of melon plants that died during the drought in Fuyuan village in Chongqing, on August 19, 2022. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
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![People stand on a rocky island topped by an ancient pavilion.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the Guanyin Pavilion, which has stood in the Yangtze River for more than 700 years, standing high on an outcrop revealed by the low water levels of the Yangtze River on August 20, 2022, in Ezhou, Hubei Province. At flood stage, the river flows right up to the doors and windows of the pavilion. #
Zhou Guoqiang / VCG via Getty -
![A small ship sits on the shore of a shallow and drying lake.]()
Read moreA view of a ship grounded near Louxingdun island in Poyang Lake, in Lushan, Jiangxi province, on August 24, 2022 #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
![Three people walk on an old raised-platform bridge about thee feet above parched ground.]()
Read morePeople walk on an ancient stone bridge that emerged from the receding Poyang Lake on August 27, 2022, in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. #
Li Jie / VCG via Getty -
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![A man walks on the wide, dry bed of a river, with tall city buildings visible on the horizon.]()
Read moreA man walks on the dry bed of the Yangtze River in Wuhan on September 2, 2022. #
AFP / Getty -
![A person uses a large mop to whack a small section of a brush fire.]()
Read moreA villager attempts to put out a brush fire with a mop during a drought in Xinyao village, Nanchang city, Jiangxi province, on August 25, 2022. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
![A view of a city skyline, with a fire burning in the nearby hills]()
Read moreSmoke rises into the sky above a forest fire near Chongqing on August 21, 2022. #
VCG via Getty -
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![Several people swim and float in river water beneath a huge road bridge, beside two large bridge supports.]()
Read morePeople float in the Yangtze River near bridge-support columns that show previous water levels in Chongqing on August 19, 2022. #
Mark Schiefelbein / AP -
![An ancient statue carved into a rock sits beside a river with a low water level.]()
Read moreA once-submerged Buddhist statue sits on top of Foyeliang island reef in the Yangtze River, which reappeared after water levels fell in Chongqing, on August 20, 2022. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
![Dead fish and debris lie in thick mud beside a small pool of water.]()
Read moreA dead fish lies next to a pool of water left in the drying Poyang Lake outside Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on August 26, 2022. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
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![About a hundred large hoses lie side by side on an embankment between a river and a lake, each discharging water into the lake.]()
Read moreMore than 100 pumps move water from Shuiyang River into Gucheng Lake in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on August 23, 2022, attempting to alleviate rising water demand during the drought. #
CFOTO / Future Publishing via Getty -
![Cracked earth sits alongside a river, with a city visible in the background.]()
Read moreCracks run through the partially dried river bed of the Gan River, a tributary of Poyang Lake, in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, on August 28, 2022. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters
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