The Ministry of Water Resources said on its website on Aug 11 that the drought in central and western Henan and central and southern Hebei has been relieved by rainfall, which also ended the drought in Anhui, Shaanxi and Sichuan.

The rain replenished soil moisture in drought-hit areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, Shanxi and Anhui.

However, the western Liaoning and central and western Jilin provinces are now still suffering from drought — as the region has experienced high temperatures and little rain since the beginning of July.

The amount of precipitation in a large area of Liaoning since the beginning of July is 60 to 70 percent less than the same period of past years, and the province has experienced high temperatures without rain for more than 15 days since mid-July.

In Liaoning’s cities of Fuxin, Chaoyang, Jinzhou, Dalian and Huludao, the lack of water has affected crops. Additionally, residents in some parts of the province have experienced issues related to access to safe drinking water — and there have also been problems with drinking water for cattle.

Local authorities of flood control and drought relief in Liaoning issued a level-four warning for drought, and dispatched 15 teams to assist drought-hit areas.

A total of 1.08 million people in the province have joined the efforts to relieve the drought, irrigating 4.91 million mu (about 327,300 hectares) of farmland, and allowing 80,000 people to gain access to safe drinking water.

Since late July, the amount of rainfall in the neighboring province of Jilin is about 70 percent less than the same period last year, and the drought has affected cities such as Siping, Songyuan and Baicheng.

The Jilin provincial government has set aside 10 million yuan and dispatched 10 working teams to try to tackle the situation, and 320,000 people have joined the efforts to control the drought, irrigating 6.7 million mu of farmland.

Additionally, central China’s Hubei province has offered a 20 million yuan support program.

A total of 65.89 million mu of crops around China — mainly in Henan, Inner Mongolia, Hubei, Liaoning and Hebei — have been affected by the drought, and 2.35 million people and 2.54 million cattle — mainly in Hubei, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Gansu — have had difficulties concerning access to drinking water.