China warned several central and southern provinces hit by a months-long dry spell on Saturday to prepare for heavy rain and even floods, though Premier Wen Jiabao said it was too early to call an end to the critical water shortage. Officials have said parts of China are enduring their worst drought in 50 years, with rainfall 40 to 60 percent less than normal, damaging crops and cutting power from hydroelectric dams. State television and the official Xinhua news agency said that the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang would experience rain, thunderstorms and strong winds. "Rain in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be beneficial to replenishing water in reservoirs and lakes and to ameliorating the drought," Xinhua citied the China Meteorological Administration as saying. Provinces must be on alert for heavy rains and for possible landslides and other disasters, it said.
China warned several central and southern provinces hit by a months-long dry spell on Saturday to prepare for heavy rain and even floods, though Premier Wen Jiabao said it was too early to call an end to the critical water shortage.
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Officials have said parts of China are enduring their worst drought in 50 years, with rainfall 40 to 60 percent less than normal, damaging crops and cutting power from hydroelectric dams.
State television and the official Xinhua news agency said that the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi and Zhejiang would experience rain, thunderstorms and strong winds.
"Rain in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be beneficial to replenishing water in reservoirs and lakes and to ameliorating the drought," Xinhua citied the China Meteorological Administration as saying.
Provinces must be on alert for heavy rains and for possible landslides and other disasters, it said.
In some drought-affected provinces it had begun to rain quite hard, state television added, showing pictures of drenched streets and fields.
But Wen, speaking at in the central city of Wuhan, said the weather could change again.
"Recently some areas have experienced rain, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about the weather," Xinhua paraphrased him as saying.
"There is still a way to go for the fundamental easing of the drought, and we must not treat lightly its impact," Wen said.
Properly tackling the drought was crucial for ensuring the stable and fast growth of the economy and controlling inflation, he added.
Photo shows a fisherman stepping out from his boat after fishing in the morning at the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province June 2, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Stringer
Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/04/us-china-drought-idUSTRE7524E120110604
