The severe drought that is currently plaguing Liaoning and Jilin
provinces in northeast China may be alleviated slightly by rainfall
in early July, after a record low in the amount of rainfall during
June.
Forecasts show that there is set to be 30 to 40 millimeters of
rainfall between July 4 and 8 in northeast China, said Song
Lianchun from the China Meteorological Administration at a press
conference in Beijing on Monday.
The temperature in Jilin and Heilongjiang also hit record highs
while that in Liaoning was the second highest on record, Song
added.
The country's average temperature reached 20.5 degrees Celsius
in June, one degree above average and also the second highest since
1951, according to Song.
More than 1.7 million people and 760,000 heads of livestock are
still facing drinking water shortages and 183 reservoirs have dried
up so far in the drought-stricken region.
The drought, the worst in Liaoning since records began in 1951,
has affected 2.15 million hectares of farmland, 68 percent of the
province's total.
(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2007)