Shipping traffic remains paralysed along the drought-stricken Xijiang and Xiangjiang rivers in south China as authorities work to preserve drinking water for local households, reported Xinhua.

On 18 December, more than 900 vessels were stuck on a section of the Xijiang River that runs through the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The Pearl River flood control and drought relief headquarters said that the Changzhou Reservoir, the Xijiang’s main water control facility, would not discharge water until 21 December. This is so as to ensure adequate drinking water supplies for the city of Zhuhai and Macau SAR in January.

The Xijiang is a major tributary of the Pearl River. Its low water level has been caused by a prolonged drought along its upper reaches in Guangxi and the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan.

Water levels on a section of the Xiangjiang River that runs through Changsha, capital of Hunan province, reached a historic low on Thursday.