Drought continues to parch southern China

A lingering drought is expected to continue in China's southern provinces over the next three days, according to local meteorological stations. More than 30 counties or cities in southwest China's Guizhou Province were suffering from severe drought as of Tuesday morning. The provincial meteorological station continued to issue an orange drought alert Tuesday, the second-highest level. Temperatures in some places could reach as high as 35 to 37 degrees Celsius over the next three days. A total of 26 counties have been hit by drought in the southwestern Chongqing Municipality. The persisting drought has affected 149,713 hectares of farmland and left 613,000 people short of drinking water. Temperatures in 14 counties of Chongqing reached more than 40 degrees Celsius over the past week. Two rivers and 51 reservoirs have dried up due to the dry spell. Drought and heat is forecast to continue to spread in most southern regions, particularly in Yunnan, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, over the week. A total of 394,000 hectares of corps and 450,000 people have been affected by the drought in Hunan, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters. In contrast, rains pelted parts of northern China from Sunday to Monday. The heavy rain triggered floods in northwestern Gansu Province, affecting about 8,250 people and damaging 100 tonnes of grains.