Worst summer drought in 30 years leaves one million people thirsty in northeast China
19/6/2007 17:14
The worst summer drought to hit northeast China's Liaoning Province in 30
years has left more than one million people short of drinking water, the
provincial government said. Nearly all the 14 cities in Liaoning Province
have been affected by the drought, though the situation is more serious in the
northwestern and central-southern parts of the province where 88 small and
medium-sized reservoirs have dried up, the provincial flood prevention and
drought control headquarters told Xinhua today. The drought has affected 1.27
million people, 473,800 heads of cattle and 1.4 million hectares of cropland, it
said. The government has managed to transport water from the humid areas in
the eastern part of the province. But so far only 88,500 of the affected
population have had access to water ferried in by water wagons. The
provincial government has dispatched more than 500,000 workers to fight the
drought, by digging extra wells and sending water wagons to the worst-hit
areas. Local drought prevention experts have blamed the drought on high
temperatures and inadequate rainfall in June. The provincial meteorological
bureau said summer had arrived 26 days earlier than normal this year and the
high temperature in most cities topped 30 degrees Celsius with little rain in
the past two weeks. Liaoning Province suffered the heaviest snowstorm in half
a century in March, but persistent high temperatures in the late spring and
early summer have quickly reduced soil moisture, it said. The provincial
committee for rural economic development said the drought would seriously
endanger grain production as the corn and paddy fields urgently need water in
this season. "Some crops could wither and die if the drought continues," said
an official with the provincial water resources department. The provincial
meteorological station in Shenyang has forecast no rainfall in the coming week
and a high of 35 degrees Celsius in the western areas. Heilongjiang Province
in northernmost China has also seen signs of a drought. Its drought control
officials said the situation would worsen if there was no rain before the end of
the month.
Xinhua
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