Poyang Lake, July 10, 2022. (Click image for larger, high-resolution view.).
Poyang Lake, August 27, 2022. (Click image for broader, high-resolution view.).
The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired these sets of images on July 10, 2022 (upper image above, left image below), and August 27, 2022 (lower image above, best image listed below). The images are composites that integrate OLI observations of shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and noticeable light.
Poyang Lakes highest water levels of the year happened on June 23 (as measured at the Xingzi Station). After that, high temperature levels and a lack of rain triggered water levels in the lake to drop rapidly, according to the Jiangxi Hydrological Monitoring. By August 6, water levels had actually fallen to 11.99 meters (39.33 feet), marking what the center called the start of the lakes “dry season.” That low came approximately 100 days earlier than typical. It was the earliest date that the water level dropped to such a low mark given that records were first kept in 1951. Water levels have continued to drop, signing up just 8.96 meters (29.4 feet) on August 30.
Poyang Lake detail, July 10– August 27, 2022.
The emptying of Poyang Lake has interrupted irrigation, shipping, and drinking water systems for close-by communities. In addition, millions of people living throughout the Yangtze River watershed are being affected as extreme heat and drought put pressure on Chinas water materials, farming, electrical power generation, and commercial activity.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, utilizing Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey.
In winter season, water levels on the lake are typically low. Summertime rains trigger the nations largest freshwater lake to swell as water streams in from the Yangtze River.
Poyang Lakes greatest water levels of the year took place on June 23 (as measured at the Xingzi Station). After that, high temperature levels and a lack of rain caused water levels in the lake to drop quickly, according to the Jiangxi Hydrological Monitoring.
Chinas largest freshwater lake drained pipes by prolonged heat and drought.
Between the winter and summer seasons, Poyang Lake, in Chinas Jiangxi Province, regularly changes in size. In winter, water levels on the lake are typically low. Summer rains cause the nations biggest freshwater lake to swell as water streams in from the Yangtze River.
The lake has not swelled in the summer season of 2022. A prolonged heat wave and dry spell throughout much of the Yangtze River Basin has dried the lake out early and pushed water levels to lows not seen in years.