Drought has affected 11.13 million hectares of farmland in China so far this year, an increase of 1.73 million hectares over the same period last year, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFCDRH).

The statistics showed 3.9 million hectares of farmland were suffering severe drought, while 17.51 million people and 16.67 million head of livestock were short of water.

The drought has hit western, central and northeastern parts of China.

SFCDRH officials said southwest China's Chongqing Municipality had experienced drought for more than 50 consecutive days, with some areas up to 70 to 80 days.

Twenty-eight districts and counties in Chongqing have had temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, 23 of them notching up record highs.

It is the worst drought for Chongqing and neighboring Sichuan Province since 1951.

Blazing temperatures dried up two thirds of streams and rivers,471 reservoirs and about 10,000 wells in the city.

All the power plants with reservoirs in Chongqing have stopped operation, making relief operations more difficult.

About 1.31 million hectares of farmland suffered from drought in Chongqing, while 7.92 million people and 7.34 million livestock faced temporary water shortages.

The dry spell caused 6.13 billion yuan (US$766.87 million) of economic losses in Chongqing.

Heavy rain is unlikely to ease the drought in Chongqing and western Sichuan Province before Sept. 2, and temperatures would continue to hover around 33 to 37 degrees Celsius, according to forecasts.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2006)