Six-month drought shows no let-up
Source: Xinhua |
March 5, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ZHANG Xingliang spent nine hours trying to get water from the only well not gone dry in a southwest China village, but his pail was still half empty at the end of the day.
"It's increasingly difficult to get water," said Zhang, from Xingren County in Guizhou Province.
The wheat and vegetables in his field withered weeks ago.
"You don't care much about the crops when you're running out of drinking water yourself," said Zhang.
Wells, reservoirs and ponds have dried up in the drought that has plagued southwestern China for nearly six months.
"It's the worst drought I've ever seen," said Jiang Zefen, 65. "There has been no rain since October."
At least 15 million people are short of drinking water in the worst-hit regions of Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi and Chongqing, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters based in Beijing.
In Yunnan Province alone, the worst drought in six decades has left 6 million people short of drinking water, the local government said on Wednesday.
At a primary school in Guangnan County, 5,500 students and teachers rely on four water wagons that transport 20 tons of water a day.
"There's been no tap water since October," said Guo Kaihui, a teenage girl who was waiting in a line with a basin and pail.
The government sent 70 workers on Wednesday to pump underground water for the drought-hit areas, hoping to fully exploit the underground water resources, said He Zixing, in charge of the provincial land and resources bureau.
The central weather bureau has forecast little rain in western China in March, and warned the drought is likely to continue for some time.
"The drought will continue in the southwest and northwest," said Chen Zhenlin, an official in charge of disaster relief at China Meteorological Administration in Beijing.
He said the CMA has earmarked 2 million yuan to artificially make rain or snow in the drought-hit areas.
The drought has affected nearly half the country, causing an arid stretch throughout northern, western and southern China.
In Chongqing Municipality, drought has caused water shortages for 480,000 people and threatened 166,000 hectares of cropland.
The water level of the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, has dropped to a new low in Chongqing. In some sections, ships are stranded and water traffic has ceased.
In Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, 118,000 people and 440,000 head of cattle are suffering water shortages, the local water resources bureau said yesterday.
"It's increasingly difficult to get water," said Zhang, from Xingren County in Guizhou Province.
The wheat and vegetables in his field withered weeks ago.
"You don't care much about the crops when you're running out of drinking water yourself," said Zhang.
Wells, reservoirs and ponds have dried up in the drought that has plagued southwestern China for nearly six months.
"It's the worst drought I've ever seen," said Jiang Zefen, 65. "There has been no rain since October."
At least 15 million people are short of drinking water in the worst-hit regions of Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi and Chongqing, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters based in Beijing.
In Yunnan Province alone, the worst drought in six decades has left 6 million people short of drinking water, the local government said on Wednesday.
At a primary school in Guangnan County, 5,500 students and teachers rely on four water wagons that transport 20 tons of water a day.
"There's been no tap water since October," said Guo Kaihui, a teenage girl who was waiting in a line with a basin and pail.
The government sent 70 workers on Wednesday to pump underground water for the drought-hit areas, hoping to fully exploit the underground water resources, said He Zixing, in charge of the provincial land and resources bureau.
The central weather bureau has forecast little rain in western China in March, and warned the drought is likely to continue for some time.
"The drought will continue in the southwest and northwest," said Chen Zhenlin, an official in charge of disaster relief at China Meteorological Administration in Beijing.
He said the CMA has earmarked 2 million yuan to artificially make rain or snow in the drought-hit areas.
The drought has affected nearly half the country, causing an arid stretch throughout northern, western and southern China.
In Chongqing Municipality, drought has caused water shortages for 480,000 people and threatened 166,000 hectares of cropland.
The water level of the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, has dropped to a new low in Chongqing. In some sections, ships are stranded and water traffic has ceased.
In Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, 118,000 people and 440,000 head of cattle are suffering water shortages, the local water resources bureau said yesterday.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
