Ongoing drought affects 100 million hectares farmland
(Xinhua )
Updated: 2006-08-17 10:49 Scorching weather and continuous drought across
China have affected over 100 million hectares of farmland this summer, latest
statistics show.
China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Wednesday
that more than 40 million hectares are facing a severe drought.
A
farmer squats on a dried-out river bed at a village in Xiangfan, central
China's Hubei province August 16, 2006. Scorching weather and continuous
drought across China have affected over 100 million hectares of farmland
this summer, latest statistics show. [newsphoto]
| Crops on ten million
hectares of farmland have already withered. Sustained high temperature and low
summer rainfall have brought drought to large parts of China this summer, said
Tian Yitang, a headquarters official.
In the southwestern municipality of Chongqing and neighbouring Sichuan
province, it is the most severe drought in 50 years, said Tian.
The southern parts of China, usually rainy and humid in summer, have also
experienced drought this year, said Tian. Water levels in most rivers have
remained low.
The northwestern parts of the country, hit by drought most summers, are
suffering from searing heat and low rainfall this year as usual.
Tian said continuous droughts have left about 14 million people and 15
million livestock short of water.
Local governments have allocated more than 300 million U.S. dollars to help
residents fight the drought.
On the hottest days, more than 30 million people are mobilized each day to
tap ground water, transport water tanks and improve water conservation
facilities.
The drought-relief efforts have solved water supply problems for more than 12
million people across China, Tian said.
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