February 5, 2009

Parts of China are experiencing their worst drought in half a century, threatening the water supply of millions of people and putting the winter harvest at risk, state media reported Thursday (February 5).

 

The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters declared a "level two" emergency for its drought-stricken northern and central provinces.

 

Provincial authorities have declared "red" or "orange" drought alerts in affected areas. The two colours refer to varying levels of extraordinarily dry weather conditions.

 

The dry spell has spread rapidly across seven key agricultural provinces, triggering calls from President Hu Jintao and other top leaders to step up support for the affected areas, the China Daily reported.

 

"The duration, scope and impact of the drought are rare," said Zheng Guoguang, chief of the China Meteorological Administration, according to the paper.

 

At least 3.7 million people and 1.9 million head of livestock are short of water, the paper said.

 

About 9.5 million hectares of farmland, representing 43 percent of the country's winter wheat supplies, are also affected, according to the paper.

 

The situation is unlikely to improve soon as no rain has been forecast for the next 10 days, it added.

 

Meteorological authorities in the central province of Henan, one of China's most populous with 93.6 million people, have called the drought the worst since 1951, after 105 days without rain.

 

"The severest-hit regions of Henan and (the neighbouring province of) Anhui will see their wheat harvest down by about 20 percent," Ma Wenfeng, a Beijing-based agricultural analyst, told the paper.

 

Farther north, in Beijing, it has been more than 100 days since rain fell - a situation not seen in 38 years - the paper said.

 

Water shortages, worsened by the relentless demands of a rapidly growing economy, are among the main long-term worries for the Chinese government.

 

However, some 40 percent of the drought-stricken wheat-producing farm land has been irrigated, the Ministry of Agriculture said Wednesday (February 4).

 

Some agricultural futures inched up on expectation of lower supply because of the drought, but some analysts said it was premature to assess the severity of the damage to crops.

 

Wang Cheng of Nanhua Futures said drought scares occur every year, and are sometimes used to move markets in the absence of other trading cues.