Southern China is facing the worst drought in a century. By Tuesday, nearly 6.5 million hectares of farmland had been affected, and more than 20 million people faced drinking water shortages.
In Yunnan Province, the drought is still getting worse. Experts say hot and dry weather will continue in the province for the next two months. More than two billion yuan and 11 million people are devoted to drought relief work.
Some regions in Guizhou Province have also been suffering through the dry conditions for half a year. Some farmland will not be able to produce any crops this season. Farmers have been forced to plant their crops as close as they can to the few water sources available.
Twelve of the 14 cities in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are affected. Nearly 2 million people and 870-thousand head of livestock are also in dire need of drinking water. And the figure is still rising.
So far the government has offered more than 2.5 billion yuan to combat the drought. More than 15 million people are involved in the relief work and have already solved the drinking problems for more than 12 million people and 6.7 million head of livestock.
