The exact reason of the leak is yet to be established, but a statement from Norilsk Nickel company, which operates the site suggests it could have been caused - worryingly - by collapsing permafrost.
Usually one of the most full flowing in Russia, the river tends to drop the level twice a year - but not by a catastrophic 2-2.5 meters as this year.
Some 5.4 million hectares of land are ablaze across Russia, mostly in Siberia and the country's far east. Water sprayed by planes to fight the fires is ‘now as expensive as Champagne’.
The Dongjiang River, which provides more than 90 percent of the water consumed in Shenzhen, is facing the severest drought since 1963, the year with the lowest precipitation recorded in the city. The water level in the three main water reservoirs is now more than 55 percent lower than in previous years according to Zhang Jian'an, Shenzhen water resources authority official, media reported.
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