Perilous Times and Climate Change
Apr 30, 2011
Massive Drought hits parts of South, Central China
A drought is plaguing parts of central and southern China,
impacting grain production and disrupting drinking water supply.
WUHAN - A DROUGHT is plaguing parts of central and southern China,
impacting grain production and disrupting drinking water supply.
Drinking water supply to more than 20,000 people and thousands of
livestock animals have been disrupted in Jingzhou City of central
China's Hubei Province, also a major grain production base,
according statistics from the Jingzhou municipal authorities.
The city, which is usually humid in spring, had barely any
rainfall since mid-April.
Paddy fields in several counties of Jingzhou have turned dry.
"It's time for irrigation. Without water, the plants will die
soon," said Yang Qing, a farmer in Futian Village of Jinali County
in the worst hit area.
The municipal authorities have been discharging water from the
reservoirs to help with irrigation. Water volume in the city's
reservoir has dropped to 336 million cubic meters, down 67 per
cent year on year.
More than 3.3 million hectares of farmland in the province have
been impacted by the drought, according to statistics from Hubei's
Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. -- CHINA DAILY/ANN