diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f938c00ad..13c25ca1d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@
     Bug #4969: "Miss" sound plays for any actor
     Bug #4972: Player is able to use quickkeys while disableplayerfighting is active
     Bug #4979: AiTravel maximum range depends on "actors processing range" setting
+    Bug #4980: Drowning mechanics is applied for actors indifferently from distance to player
     Feature #2229: Improve pathfinding AI
     Feature #3442: Default values for fallbacks from ini file
     Feature #3610: Option to invert X axis
diff --git a/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/actors.cpp b/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/actors.cpp
index b627bdafa..bf515c842 100644
--- a/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/actors.cpp
+++ b/apps/openmw/mwmechanics/actors.cpp
@@ -1539,7 +1539,10 @@ namespace MWMechanics
 
                     if(iter->first.getClass().isNpc())
                     {
-                        updateDrowning(iter->first, duration, ctrl->isKnockedOut(), isPlayer);
+                        // We can not update drowning state for actors outside of AI distance - they can not resurface to breathe
+                        if (inProcessingRange)
+                            updateDrowning(iter->first, duration, ctrl->isKnockedOut(), isPlayer);
+
                         calculateNpcStatModifiers(iter->first, duration);
 
                         if (timerUpdateEquippedLight == 0)