GUIYANG, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Lingering droughts in southwest China's Guizhou Province have affected more than 8.37 million people, local authorities said Friday.

Over 1 million people lack adequate supplies of drinking water, the provincial government said.

The dry weather has lingered since mid-June, affecting 61 counties.

The drought has also affected 541,200 hectares of farmland, causing direct economic losses totaling 3.2 billion yuan (522 million U.S. dollars).

The provincial government has upgraded its emergency response level and allotted 19.3 million yuan for drought relief.

The dry weather is expected to last until Aug. 5, the provincial meteorological station said.