This year's Dragon Boat Festival will lack some of its usual festivities in Wagouzi village in Honghu city of Central China's Hubei province - they cannot hold dragon boat races as severe drought has dried up local rivers and lakes, Shanghai Evening Post reported on Wednesday.

Traditionally, the residents of Wagouzi village hold bi-annual dragon boat races, during the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

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But this year, "the lakes and ponds are almost dry. Even if it rains in the coming days, there will still not be enough for dragon boat racing," said Xia Jianguo, an experienced oarsman. "This is the first time I've seen it like this in decades."

Although rain yesterday moistened the shriveled lakes, it has not gone far to ease the drought, the severest in decades.

Over months, the drought has persisted, and Honghu Lake has shrunk in size by one third, with dead fish and shrimps left on dry land as the water has retreated. Once a lake with rippling water, Honghu is now a lake of mud.

The drought has also resulted in soaring prices for fresh-water fish as availability decreases. At a market in Honghu city, the price of finless eel hit a new high of approximately 50 yuan ($7.7) per kilogram, a rise from 30 yuan per kilogram.

There are also concerns the drought may greatly affect the ecology of Honghu Lake. "Some species may disappear after the drought," warned the head of Honghu Wetland Nature Reserve Administration, Xu Yanhong.