Drought affects 710,000 hectares of farmland in north China's Hebei

SHIJIAZHUANG, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Drought has impacted about 10.65 million mu (710,000 hectares) of crops in north China's Hebei Province, said the provincial water resources department on Wednesday.

Due to poor precipitation and high temperatures recently, central and northern parts of Hebei have reported droughts. Currently, the province has activated a Level IV drought emergency response.

In the first half of this year, Hebei recorded an average precipitation of 123.2 mm, 13 percent less than the average for the same period in previous years. Its total precipitation during the first six months of 2023 is the lowest recorded in this period since 1956.

Notably, in June alone, Hebei's average precipitation was a mere 29 mm, 60 percent less than the average for the same period in other years.

The province has allocated water resources to expand irrigation areas, covering 17.64 million mu of farmland, in a bid to minimize its losses.

Since the beginning of this year, Hebei has also increased the discharge of upstream reservoirs to help replenish water for the sake of local ecosystems and agriculture.

China has a four-level emergency response system for disaster relief, with Level IV being the lowest and Level I the highest.