Mekong River nations are suffering from the most severe drought in decades, affecting tens of millions of people. And China has discharged water supply to help relieve the crisis.
In Vietnam, the water level of the Mekong river has dropped to a 90-year-low. The country's agricultural authority says as high as 50% of its arable land have suffered drought and are being salinized.
Millions of people are in shortage of water supply for daily use. 39 provincial governments have requested support from the central government....while 10 provinces announced a state of emergency.
In Thailand, nearly 60% of the land suffer from the dry spell. Rice farmers are expected to lose hundreds of billions of Thai Baht. This is the second year in a row that they are grappling with such a massive drought.
Hot and dry.... that's the weather like in southwest China's Yunnan Province, origin of the Mekong river. Despite facing its own drought, China has decided to offer a helping hand.
"From March 15 to April 10, China will discharge water from Jinghong Hydropower Station to downstream areas for emergency use, which will benefit Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. We hope that this can help alleviate the drought there," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang.
Lu said the Chinese government will do its utmost to help.
