The Three Gorges Dam reservoir records its highest water level in July as torrential rains wreak havoc.

By Probe International

July 15: The Three Gorges Dam opened its flood gates for the first time this year in response to rising water levels caused by record rains in southwest China.

A summer of extreme weather has simultaneously unleashed heavy rains across the country’s east and south and sweltering heat in the north. Last week, torrential rains in the southwest placed the Three Gorges Dam on high alert as the deluge claimed six lives and prompted evacuations of several areas in the hardest-hit region of Dianjing county near the sprawling megacity of Chongqing.

To alleviate flood pressures on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, the Three Gorges Dam increased the number of open floodgates from four to six on the same day. The Global Times reports the outflow flow increased from 27,000 cubic meters to 31,000 cubic meters per second, with the aim of controlling the water level in the reservoir before the flood crest arrived.

On July 13, 2024, the Three Gorges Reservoir reached its highest recorded water level, measuring 161.1 metres, the highest ever recorded in July according to China’s Ministry of Water Resources. That estimate varies from the one given by the video report below, which places the level at 165.72 meters (20.72 meters above the flood limit).

Citing a forecast from the National Meteorological Center, China Daily reports a vast stretch of regions in the Yangtze’s upper reaches are expected to receive 60 to 120 millimeters of rainfall in mid-July, with precipitation in some areas in the basin, which covers Sichuan and Chongqing, potentially exceeding 300 mm.