Lingering drought is continuing to affect the middle and lower reaches of China's Yangtze River.

The five provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu are among the worst hit. More than 34 million people have been affected. Over four million are facing a drinking water shortage and more than 5 million are in need of assistance.

The drought has led to indirect economic losses of nearly 15 billion yuan, and damaged more than 37 million hectares of farmland. Regular discharges downstream from the Three Gorges Dam have emptied the reservoir of four-fifths of its dischargeable volume. If arid conditions continue in the upper reaches, the dam will stop releasing water in mid-June.

vivi筆記：

Yangtze River：長江
indirect economic losses：間接經(jīng)濟損失
Regular discharges：定期排放
Three Gorges Dam：三峽大壩
dischargeable volume：調(diào)節(jié)庫容
upper reaches：上游

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