Sleet on Tuesday night caused by both natural and artificially-induced rainfall temporarily relieved a drought that has lasted for two months in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the local meteorological observatory said on Wednesday.

Sleet fell from 8:00 PM Tuesday to 8:00 AM Wednesday on the whole province, boosted by 105 artificial rainfall operations across the province, said the local meteorological observatory.

The rainfall record was five to 13 mm in north Shaanxi, one to five mm in central parts of the province and three to ten mm in the south.

The sleet aided irrigation a little but central Shaanxi, especially Weinan City, is still in the grip of drought.

The provincial drought has left 300,000 people short of drinking water and affected thousands of hectares of cropland over the past two months, said local authorities.

The average rainfall in January in central Shaanxi was 50 to 90percent below average and temperatures were one to two degrees centigrade higher, according to the Shaanxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Only two to six mm of rain fell in January in Baoji City, and no rainfall was reported in Weinan City, the headquarters said. Sporadic drizzle fell on Xianyang and Xi'an.

Water shortages have affected more than 300,000 rural residents and 60,000 livestock in Tongchuan, Xianyang and Weinan, three cities in central Shaanxi.

Xi'an, Weinan, Tongchuan and Baoji have earmarked funds of 31 million yuan (US$3.9 million) for drought relief. The provincial water resources department will also allocate special funds to fight the drought.

Six artificial rainfall teams were sent to drought-affected cities in Shaanxi.

Local water resources authorities organized 1,840 vehicles to carry drinking water to those severely affected.

Water storage equipment swung into action to irrigate crops in the drought-hit areas.

The drought could worsen as February temperatures are expected to be higher than the same period in previous years and little rainfall is forecast, local meteorologists said.

The latest report from China's Central Weather Bureau indicated that drought has extended to more areas in northeast, east, northwest and southwest China in the past month.

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2007)