Severe drought hitting southwest China

A severe drought over the past months has left 7.5 million people and more than 4 million head of livestock without adequate drinking water in two southwestern Chinese provinces, local authorities said Tuesday February 23, 2010.

In addition, the long dry spell has threatened reservoirs and affected millions of hectares of crop land and forests in Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, according to the local drought relief authorities.

Yunnan has been experiencing the worst drought in six decades since last autumn due to lack of rainfall and high temperatures.

Almost 6 million people and 3.6 million head of livestock are facing drinking water shortages in Yunnan.