The worst drought in six decades is escalating in eastern China's Shandong Province, a spokesperson with the local Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said Saturday.

A total of 240,000 people and 107,000 head of livestock are suffering from short supply of drinking water in the province.

Approximately 2.01 million hectares of wheat land has been affected by the drought, or 55.9 percent of the province's total farmland sown to the crop, some 73,333 hectares more than the week-earlier level.

Accumulative precipitation since September averaged 11 mm in Shandong, 86 percent less than the year-earlier level.

The province has earmarked 680 million yuan (US$103 million) and motivated 2.11 million people for fighting drought.