BEIJING, July 4 -- Droughts since late June have affected 890,000 people in China and large areas of crops, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Friday.

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Hubei Province were most severely hit.

About 15.76 million mu (1.05 million hectares) of crops were in need of water as of Friday, much less than the average of 101 million mu in previous years. Some 890,000 people have difficulty in accessing drinking water, much fewer than the average of 6.75 million in previous years.