A serious drought in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is likely to
persist all this month because of unseasonably warm temperatures,
water resources authorities said on Monday.
Since August, the drought has plagued 78 of the
region's 84 counties, including county-level cities, the sources
said.
From mid August to early November, rain falls in
Guangxi ranged from zero to 156.8 millimeters, 20 to 90 percent
below seasonal averages.
Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 6, temperatures averaged 24
degrees Celsius in the region, 2.5 degrees higher than a year
earlier.
Water stored at reservoirs dropped to 4.8 billion
cubic meters, or 47.99 percent of the reservoirs' combined
effective storage capacity.
The regional government has earmarked 10 million yuan
(US$1.3 million) for emergency water supplies and for use of oil
and electricity against the aridity.
Local meteorologists forecast the drought will
continue in November and temperatures will be one degree Celsius or
so higher than the same period last year in most areas of Guangxi
over the next ten days.
(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2006)
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