Drought will persist in northern China this month amid scant rain, the China Meteorological Administration forecast on Tuesday.

Administration spokeswoman Jiao Meiyan said precipitation in several provinces and regions -- Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei -- from January 1 to March 19 was a 57-year low of 6.2 millimeters, compared with a normal level of 12.7 mm.

Scant rainfall had left the soil in northern China dry and drought would persist despite some rain at the end of March, she said.

"North China should set aside adequate water for farmland irrigation while ensuring drinking water supply in rural and urban areas," she added.

Heilongjiang Province is China's largest supplier of commodity grains. Apart from cash crops, it grows maize, soybean, rice and wheat.

But some 6 million hectares of arable land, or 51 percent of the province's total sown area, could face severe drought during the spring ploughing season, local agricultural authorities said.

By March 26, a 5-year high of 19.4 million ha of arable land had been affected by drought, including 3.3 million ha of cropland, mainly in the northeastern and northwestern areas of the country, according to the central Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

About 5.82 million people suffered from drinking water shortages.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2008)