Drought in western Northeast China develops rapidly, Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters issues a bulletin

Chen Lei, deputy commander of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and Minister of Water Resources, chaired a consultation meeting of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on the 13th. The consultation concluded that the national drought situation has recently shown a developing trend; although drought in eastern Northwest China, eastern Southwest China and western Huang-Huai and other areas has basically eased due to rainfall, the drought in western Northeast China has developed rapidly, with a relatively large drought-affected area.

The consultation indicated that since the beginning of summer, precipitation has been below normal in Northeast China, Northwest China, North China, Huang-Huai and parts of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, water storage in water conservancy projects has been insufficient, and severe drought has occurred in some provinces and regions. Especially since June, rainfall in most of Liaoning, western Jilin, eastern Hebei, most of Henan, northern Hubei and other areas has been 50 to 70 percent below normal; among them, rainfall in Liaoning and Jilin since July has been the lowest for the same period since 1961. Runoff in major rivers in the north has been significantly below normal, 30 to 50 percent below normal in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, 60 to 70 percent below normal in the upper and middle reaches of the Huai River, and 50 percent below normal in the Liao River. Reservoir storage in drought-affected areas in the north is below normal, with Henan, Liaoning and Jilin 10 to 40 percent below normal.

According to statistics of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters as of August 13, the crop area affected by drought in 12 provinces and regions, namely Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, reached 74.99 million mu (the multi-year average for the same period is 120 million mu), and 2.34 million people and 2.53 million head of large livestock have difficulty accessing drinking water due to drought (the multi-year averages for the same period are 10.11 million people and 7.22 million head). Among them, the crop area affected by drought in the three provinces and regions of Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia reached 44.26 million mu, accounting for about 60 percent of the national drought-affected area.

It is expected that in mid-to-late August, precipitation in southern Northeast China, northern North China, Huang-Huai and Jiang-Huai will still be below normal, with some localities more than 30 percent below normal; the drought may continue to develop, and the possibility of consecutive summer and autumn drought cannot be ruled out. Chen Lei pointed out that all localities should base their efforts on combating major drought and prolonged drought, organize and guide drought-affected areas to further strengthen drought relief work, make every effort to ensure the safety of drinking water for urban and rural residents, and strive to secure a bumper autumn grain harvest this year.