<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Plunging water levels of the Yangtze River have revealed a submerged island in China's southwestern city of Chongqing and a trio of Buddhist statues on it that are believed to be 600 years old, state media Xinhua has reported.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The three statues were found on the highest part of the island reef called Foyeliang, initially identified as built during the Ming and Qing dynasties.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>One of the statues depicts a monk sitting on a lotus pedestal.</div><div><br></div><div>The Yangtze's water levels have been falling rapidly due to a drought and a heatwave in China's southwestern region.</div><div><br></div><div>Rainfall in the Yangtze basin has been around 45% lower than normal since July, and high temperatures are likely to persist for at least another week, official forecasts said.</div><div><br></div><div>As many as 66 rivers across 34 counties in Chongqing have dried up, state broadcaster CCTV said on August 19.</div><div><br></div><div>Weeks of baking drought across Europe have also revealed long-submerged treasures.</div><div><br></div><div>In Spain, archaeologists have been delighted by the emergence of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the "Spanish Stonehenge."</div><div><br></div><div>Another of Europe's mighty rivers, the Danube, has fallen to one of its lowest levels in almost a century, exposing the hulks of more than 20 German warships sunk during World War II near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo. - CNN</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>