Gangneung City, Gangwon-do Province, South Korea - Recent

Reservoirs in South Korea's Gangwon-do Province are facing severe water shortages, with storage levels far below the national average and with some reservoirs nearly dry, as the scorching heatwave continues to rage across the country.

A reservoir near Gangneung City, once a wide lake providing water for domestic and agricultural use, has now shrunk to a narrow stream due to insufficient rainfall, and large portions of the reservoir bed are now exposed to sunlight.

Currently, many reservoirs in the Gangwon-do region have seen water storage rates running below 40 percent, much lower than the national average of 61.7 percent.

This year, Gangwon-do has received only about 70 percent of its usual rainfall. In the Gangneung area, the total precipitation over the past 30 days was just 43 millimeters, which is only 9.3 percent of the amount from the same period of last year. The Korea Meteorological Administration has reported no indications of heavy rain in the area recently, raising more concerns over the reservoirs' ability to maintain normal water supplies if the dry conditions persist.

Meanwhile, high temperatures have also severely impacted agriculture and aquaculture in South Korea. In Gangwon-do, peach growth is poor due to the lack of rainfall, while on Jeju Island, only 20 percent of carrots sown last month have germinated.

In addition, from June 11 to Aug 18, over 900,000 poultry and livestock have died due to the intense heat, 2.6 times higher than the same period of last year. Moreover, more than 1.5 million fish in ponds have died due to excessive water temperatures, surging 190 percent from the same period of last year, according to data from South Korea's Ministry of Security and Public Administration.

Shotlist:
Gangneung City, Gangwon-do Province, South Korea - Recent:
1. Various of reservoir nearing dry-up, exposed reservoir bed, bridge, hills;
Seoul, South Korea - Recent
2. Residential buildings;
3. People walking near fountain;
4. Various of traffic, pedestrians;
5. Various of sprinkler trucks working.

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