Rainless weather may severely hurt China's wheat crop

China warned Tuesday (Feb 10) of a severe impact on the nation's winter wheat crop if there was no rain within the next 15 days to relieve the worst drought in half a century.

China has been firing thousands of shells and rockets packed with cloud-seeding chemicals in a desperate bid to spark rain across the northern Chinese wheat-growing heartland.

Premier Wen Jiabao said that the drought risked straining food supplies amid the economic crisis.

The drought has affected 96 percent of the winter wheat-growing region with some areas not experiencing rain for more than 100 days.

In Henan, Anhui, Shandong and Shanxi, authorities have declared the highest-level drought emergency. This was the first time the emergency was raised so high.

The government stated that more than 2.1 million head of livestock are facing water shortages with some areas of the nation suffering the worst drought conditions since the early 1950s.

The dry spell underscores one of China's main long-term worries with the rapid exhaustion of water resources owing to the country's fast economic growth.