The drought in north China's Shanxi Province is getting worse.

Saturday, officials changed the warning color from blue to yellow which alarms advancement in drought severity.

The office of the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Shanxi had only received 20.4 millimeters of rain since October 2008. The same four month period in 2007 had 49.7 mm of rain which is 59 percent more.

A total of 2.07 million hectares of farmland across the parched province have been affected by the drought, including 544,000 hectares of crops, according to the office.

The local weather observatory predicts no major precipitation in the near future.

Because the drought warning is now yellow, the provincial government is allocating 10 million yuan (US$1.47 million) to subsidize operations to fight the drought.

Locals were also told to preserve the safety of drinking water for humans and livestock.

There are altogether four categories in the country's drought response mechanism --IV, III, II, and I, which are represented by blue, yellow, orange, and red colors showing advancement in severity.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2009)