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Shanxi drought worsens

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-19 10:45

The warning level for drought in Shanxi province was raised from blue to yellow on Saturday, signaling a marked increase in the severity of the situation, officials have said.

The office of the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Shanxi had received only 20.4 mm of rain since October last year. The same four-month period in 2007 had 49.7 mm of rain, or 59 percent more.

A total of 2.07 million hectares of farmland across the province have been affected by the drought, including 544,000 hectares of crops, the office said.

The local weather observatory has forecast no major precipitation for the near future.