A drought affecting several Chinese provinces has left 4,8-million people short of drinking water, state media reported on Wednesday, citing the state drought-relief headquarters.
Eleven million hectares of crops have been affected by drought in Gansu in the north-west, Hebei in the north, Henan in central China, Liaoning in the north-east and several other provinces, the China Daily reported.
“Little rainfall and higher than normal temperatures are the main cause of the drought that began at the end of last month,” Ye Dianxiu, a meteorologist, was quoted saying.
Average temperatures over the past month had been one to two degrees Celsius higher than previous years, while rainfall was down 30% to 50% in most of the drought-affected areas, Ye said.
Separately, the Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday that 77% of all the reservoirs in the northern Ningxia Hui Region had dried up, and almost 800 more in northern Hebei and Shanxi provinces and Inner Mongolia Region were empty. — AFP