China mounts emergency response to worst drought in 60 years

More than 30 million mu ( 2 million hectares) of wheat crop in East China's Shandong province has been affected from prolonged drought as the province has seen an average rainfall of only 12 millimeters since last September, 15 per cent of the normal level, say authorities.

The government will spend at least six billion yuan ($911 million) to divert water to affected areas, construct emergency wells and irrigation facilities, and take other measures, China's drought relief headquarters said today.

Liu Wei, deputy chief of Shandong Communist Party, told a meeting on drought relief mobilisation that party and local government agriculture officials of all levels should go to farms to ensure drought alleviation measures were being implemented.

Data from the provincial meteorological bureau showed the drought would be Shandong's worst in 200 years. If there were no substantial precipitation by the end of this month, the drought could have negative effects on wheat production in the long run.

The Chinese central government last week initiated a grade II emergency response in eight drought-ravaged provinces, including Shandong, under which the provinces began 24-hour weather monitoring and daily damage reports, and sent experts and relief materials to wheat growing areas.

The four-month drought had affected 35.1 per cent of wheat crops - 96.11 million mu - accounting for 21.7 per cent of total farmland in the provinces, the ministry of agriculture announced on Monday.