Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have called for enhanced efforts to combat severe drought that has persisted in southwest China since June.

The two leaders demanded that close attention should be paid to the drought situation as well as its influence on people's lives and farm production.

Ensuring safe drinking water should be a top priority and efforts should be made to coordinate water demands so as to reduce drought losses, according to instructions of the two leaders.

Vice Premier Hui Liangyu, who is also the chief commander of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, recently visited southwest China's severely drought-hit Guizhou Province at the request of President Hu and Premier Wen.

Hui requested increasing water sources by digging wells or transporting water so as to ensure drinking water for urban and rural residents.

Agricultural production in the autumn and winter should be properly conducted and farmers' income channels should be expanded, he said.

The construction of water conservancy projects should be comprehensively strengthened, Hui said.

To date, 88 counties, cities and districts in Guizhou have been affected by the drought. Of these 88 areas, 39 have been the most severely affected by what has been the most serious drought on record since 1951.

This year, the drought was largely concentrated in southwest China, especially in poor, mountainous and ethnic minority areas. It lasted through key farming seasons, causing great losses.