BEIJING, June 18 -- China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs activated a Level-III emergency response to drought in Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong and Henan on Monday as sweltering heat continued to bake parts of the country.

The ministry called for closer monitoring of the drought situation, the scientific allocation of water resources, and timely cloud seeding operations to combat the drought and ensure successful summer sowing.

Chinese authorities have earmarked 443 million yuan (about 62.26 million U.S. dollars) in disaster relief funds to support drought control and agricultural production across a broad swath of the country, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

The funds will be used to support anti-drought measures such as replenishing soil moisture, replanting new crops, and applying fertilizer in disaster-affected areas in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi, according to the statement.

China has a four-tier drought-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe.