Precipitation least in 6 decades

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said Friday precipitation in 2011 was at the lowest level in 61 years and was 9 percent less compared to the annual average in normal years. Chen Zhenlin, a CMA official, said precipitation in 2011 amounted to 555 mm, which was 9 percent less compared to the average of 610.5 mm. Except the months of June, October and November, precipitation became all scarcer in the other months, Chen said, adding that the central areas in Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, and the eastern region in the southwest experienced as much as a 50-percent reduction in total precipitation compared to normal years. Meanwhile, the nation\'s average temperature this year stood at 9.5 degrees Celsius, which was 0.5 degree higher than usual. It also marked the 15th straight year that the climate grew warmer in the country. In September, a lingering drought has left more than 12.6 million people short of drinking water, and huge tracts of farmland parched in the southwestern regions. The drought has been particularly severe in the southwestern provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Chongqing Municipality, drying up reservoirs and rivers since it began in early July.