Fish died after a lake dried up due to a drought in southern China.

Video filmed in the city of Yueyang in Hunan Province on August 31 shows the dried-up Dongting Lake with dead fish on the cracked surface.

The last drought that affected the Yangtze River was in 1961. The Yangtze flows into Dongting Lake.

A local villager named Mr Liu said to Hunan Television that the water level in Dongting Lake rose in August every year before. But it receded early this year.

According to a local fishery administration employee, the drought has little impact on the birds in the lake, but it affected the nearby villagers' farming and planting.

They use a drone to monitor the lake area. If dead fish are found in the undried ponds, they will salvage and bury them in time to avoid water pollution.

The video was provided by local media with permission.

连日来，长江流域正遭遇自1961年以来的罕见干旱，在湖南岳阳，曾经壮美的洞庭湖在短短一个月内经历了“沧海桑田”的巨变：水位骤降，水域面积剧减，鱼类死亡，河床变成青青草原……
当地村民刘先生介绍，每年8月份是洞庭湖涨水的季节，水位一般比现在要高5米左右。令他没想到的是，今年的洞庭湖水退得如此之早，水位如此之低。这次洞庭湖退水太快，导致了很多鱼类没来得及退入主河道，被困在一些小水塘里，大片湖水被晒干后，湖底开裂，鱼类的干尸也到处都是。一些未开裂的滩涂上，大部分也都已经长满了青草。
岳阳市君山区渔政一名工作人员介绍，今年罕见的干旱对湖区的鸟类影响不大，但对附近村民的养殖、种植有一些影响。目前，他们正在用无人机对湖区情况展开调查。发现未干涸的水塘里有死鱼后，会及时进行打捞，再将死鱼集中进行掩埋，以免污染水质。
（视频由湖南台提供）