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More than a million people in the southwestern Chinese region of Guangxi have been hit by drinking water shortages in the worst drought since 1951, the People's Daily says.
In the past three months, Guangxi, the country's main sugar-growing region, had had less than half the normal amount of rain, the report said, while other parts of the region had seen almost no rain at all.
The Government has earmarked 2.29 billion yuan ($407 million) to bring water to thirsty villages. Large areas of south China are also suffering from serious drought, with water levels on two major rivers - the Gan and the Xiang - in rice-growing provinces dropping to historic lows. China suffers water shortages of nearly 40 billion cu m a year.
- REUTERS
