"Did China's dams contribute to drought in Lower Mekong countries?", 13 April 2020

Chinese dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in the countries downstream of the Mekong River – known as the Lancang in China – despite higher-than-average water levels upstream, according to a US research company.

China's government disputed the findings of the US-government funded study....

The findings by Eyes on Earth...saw the Lower Mekong at its lowest levels in more than 50 years, devastated farmers and fishermen....

....Alan Basist, a meteorologist and president of Eyes on Earth,...suggested China was "not letting the water out during the wet season, even when the restriction of water from China has a severe impact of the drought experienced downstream"....

The effect of China's 11 dams on the upper Mekong has long been debated, but data has been scarce because China does not release detailed records of how much water the dams are using to fill their reservoirs, which Eyes on Earth says have a combined capacity of more than 47 billion cubic metres.

[...]

China dismissed the findings, with a statement from the foreign affairs ministry describing the explanation that China's dam building on the river was causing drought downstream as "unreasonable".

[...]