The plateau province of Yunnan in southwest China has encountered its worst drought in 10 years, affecting some 1.5 million people, local authorities said on April 17.

As of April 15, 1.48 million people and 417,300 large domestic animals faced drinking water shortage, and 306,667 hectares of crops were damaged, according to the provincial water conservancy department.

Some 100 rivers in the province were cut off, 180 reservoirs dried up, and 140 irrigation wells had an insufficient water supply, figures of the department showed.

Located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the province has seen an uneven and lesser amount of precipitation this year. The drought is estimated to continue till the rainy season in early summer.

In the two days of  March 29 to 30, there had been seven cases of forest fires in Yunnan Province. In 2016, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, formerly known as the National Forestry Administration, announced 151 high-risk areas of forest fires, 82 of which were located in southwest China, or 54.3 percent. The dry weather adding to dense forests in this area gives rise to higher possibility of forest fires.

The province poured 546 million yuan (around 77.1 million U.S. dollars) in drought relief, mobilizing 1.13 million people and 131,100 water-loaded vehicles to irrigate the farmland and providing drinking water to thirsty people and livestock.

(Cover image via VCG.)

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