Spring Drought Left Millions of Chinese Thirsty

Spring Drought Left Millions of Chinese Thirsty



 
May 2007 -   Drought in provinces across northern 
China has left 4.8 million people and an equal number of livestock short 
of drinking water, the state drought relief headquarters said today. 
Temperatures are higher than normal for this time of year and rain is 
scarce, meteorologists said. 
Eleven million hectares of crops have been affected by drought in Gansu, 
Hebei, Henan and Liaoning, as well as other provinces in northeastern, 
northern and northwestern China, the headquarters told the official state 
news agency Xinhua. 
At least 500,000 people are thirsty in North China's Hebei Province, which 
completely surrounds the capital city of Beijing. More than 200 small 
reservoirs have dried up, officials said. 
A Chinese woman enjoys a drink of precious water. 
Beijing, with a permanent population of 15.36 million and more than four 
million transient residents, has suffered spring drought for the past 
eight years, and last year experienced its worst drought for 50 years. 
This year, from May 2007 -  was launched 
this week in Beijing. Authorities said that at present, there are 661 
Chinese cities that are short of water. 
The Ministry of Water Resources said water use in some urban areas exceeds 
200 liters per day per capita, which is higher than that of many developed 
countries and "has a great potential for conservation." 
The average temperature last month across China was 11.1 degrees Celsius, 
0.9 degrees higher than normal for the period, according to the Central 
Meteorological Observetary.    

       
      

---