South China’s Guangdong Province has been suffering the effects
of a drought for the last three months. The provincial
meteorological bureau said on Tuesday that the drought might take a
turn for the worse.
The bureau said that from October 2005 to January 10, 2006,
there was less than 40 mm of rainfall in most parts of the
province, apart from the northwest and southwest.
Rainfall in 16 cities and counties was under ten mm.
Rainfall in many areas of Guangdong was 60 percent lower than
during the same period in previous years.
The bureau said the drought was extremely severe in the northern
and central areas, creating a drinking water shortage for at least
174,000 people and affecting 14,000 hectares of crops.
Incidents of fire have also increased as a result of the
drought, with reports of 103 mountain fires in December 2005.
Although light rain fell in many parts of the province in
January, it was too little to have had any impact on the situation,
the bureau added.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2006)
