In Qianxinan Prefecture, one of the worst-hit areas, villagers are seen waiting in long lines, day in day out, for drinking water rationed out by the local government.

A river in Bajie town of the prefecture ran dry in early February. "It was at least three meters deep," said Song Xiuguo, a local resident.

On the exposed riverbed, villagers were trying to wash their clothes with whatever was left of the river water.

As of Tuesday, 6.45 million hectares of cropland was suffering from drought, at least 1.8 million hectares more than last year, the national flood prevention and drought relief headquarters in Beijing said.

It said the worst-hit areas include Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chongqing Municipality. More than 20 million people in total were suffering water shortages.

In Guangxi, 12 of all 14 cities are suffering from drought. A reservoir in Donglan County, which dried up at the end of last year, had cracks nearly 10 centimeters wide at its bottom, a result of the sustained drought.

Though spring plowing has begun even in the cold, dry northern provinces, the cropland in most parts of southern Guangxi remains infertile.

Instead of toiling in the field, peasant Zhang Yining just crouched in the field, sullen and helpless. "There's nothing I can do except wait for rain," he said.

Experts with the national climate center have described the winter climate as "abnormal." While the southwestern region has been harassed by the centennial drought, the northern and central provinces have suffered excessive snow.

Beijing alone, which is normally arid for three quarters of the year except for summer, reported 10 snowfalls since November, the latest of which fell in mid March, an unusual occurrence for most Beijingers.

Experts are hoping the abnormal weather will not prevent the country from meeting its grain output target of at least 500 million tons.

China largely relies on the north and central regions for grain output. The drought-hit southwestern region, however, is not one of the country's leading grain areas.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2010)