China drought continues to spread

Severe drought continues to plague Southwest China, and is spreading to other parts of the country. It's the worst the region has seen in a century. The government is delivering 142 tons of grain to affected areas, and doing its best to fight the drought.

This cargo-transport plane is seeding clouds in Guizhou province.

Zhou Zheng, Pilot, said, "We have flown 20 missions. Most parts of province are seeing more rain."

Huang Haojun, Guizhou Provincial Weather Bureau, said, "Data shows that the four days' of work is effective. There are flurries in some regions, and rainfall in others."

The air force will continue its mission until September.

Neighboring Yunnan province is facing the most severe situation.

In the city of Qujing, 600 thousand residents are short of drinking water. Their reservoirs have less than a month's supply. Plans are now to draw water from remote reservoirs.

Deputy Director General of Qujing Construction Bureau, said, "We plan to move water from here to downtown by 30 kilometers of pipes."

The new reservoir can supply 3 months of water.

Water supplies are now being rationed. High-consuming industries have been closed down.

North China's Inner Mongolia Auatonomous Region is also struggling with drought.

In Chifeng city, rivers, groundwater, and reservoirs are all drying up.

Farmers are preparing for spring ploughing, but 95 percent of the farmland needs deep irrigation.

Chifeng City Villager of Inner Mongolia, said, "The well is too small to irrigate the farmland. The channel supplies water every year. But now it's dry. Officials are carrying out new irrigation projects."

The city is going ahead with all of its irrigation projects. 30 million yuan has been devoted into fighting the drought.