(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-01 07:03

Water shortage

Six million people in Chongqing could be facing severe water shortages by the beginning of May due to persistent drought along the Yangtze River, according to a local meteorological expert.

"The city will be lacking at least 500 million cubic meters of drinking and irrigation water and about six million people will be thirsty," said a local meteorologist on condition of anonymity.

Official figures show that the amount of water stored in Chongqing's reservoirs is around 1.17 billion cubic meters, less than half the normal storage.

(China Daily 03/01/2007 page4)