East China's Shandong Province has been in the grip of a
drought for more than a month, affecting 1.6 million hectares of
farmland.
According to the provincial observatory, the province's total
rainfall from Sept. 1 to Oct. 15 was 16 millimeters, down by more
than 200 millimeters on the same period last year.
High temperatures during the period exacerbated the effects of
the drought. The average daily temperature in the province since
the beginning of October is 22 degrees Celsius, about three degrees
higher than the average temperature for the same period in the last
30 years, according to the provincial observatory.
So far, Shandong Province has only been able to plant about two
million hectares of winter wheat, or 60 percent of the provinces
planned acreage.
According to the provincial observatory, there will be no rain
in the next 10 days. Experts warn that if winter wheat is not
planted soon, grain output will be seriously affected next
year.
Shandong's annual grain output stands at around 40 million tons,
or one-tenth of the national total.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2006)