Meteorologists have largely blamed a lack of rainfall for the drought.

"The central and western areas of the city had 30 to 80 percent less rain in February than normal and the occasional drizzle was no remedy to the thirsty land that had cracked following the severe drought of last summer," said Ma Li, vice director of the municipal meteorological bureau.

"Most parts of Chongqing and neighboring Sichuan Province have experienced little rain in spring, so there is hardly any chance to ease the drought before the flood season starts in May," he said.

After rainfall on Tuesday, the water level of the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River rose by 29 centimeters on Wednesday, a change that meteorological experts described as relatively insignificant.

The water level of the Yangtze in Chongqing was 159.75 meters on Wednesday, still 45 centimeters below the 160.2-meter level, which is regarded as the barometer for alarm, according to the municipal navigation bureau.

Experts believe the drought is likely to continue in the southwestern municipality throughout March.

The previous day, the Chongqing section of the Yangtze had been measured at a record low of 159.46 meters.

Meanwhile, the Jialing River, a major tributary on the upper Yangtze, was also running dry with Tuesday's water level dropping to a record low of around 172 meters. Its water flow has slowed to around 60 cubic meters per second, according to the local hydrological station.

The Shapingba Waterworks, one of the city's largest water suppliers in Shapingba where a cluster of colleges and universities are located, is suffering serious water shortages with only one of its 10 pipes used to pump water from the Yangtze still below the water surface and in operation.

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