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Widespread Drought

People walk in the dry riverbed of the Jialing River, a tributary of the Yangtze, on August 20.
People walk in the dry riverbed of the Jialing River, a tributary of the Yangtze, on August 20. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein (AP)

Rainfall since July has been around 45% lower than normal in the Yangtze basin, which covers almost one-fifth of China’s total land area and one-third of China’s total population. The Yangtze River, Asia’s biggest river, is so low that it’s sitting at around half of its usual width.

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