China's National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert for high temperatures on Sunday, maintaining the warning for the 10th consecutive day, as the drought spell hit central and north China provinces, including Henan and Hebei.
According to the center, 16 national weather stations registered record-breaking daily high temperatures.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters maintained a Level-IV emergency response on Saturday for the drought in Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, and Henan. The system has four tiers, with Level I being the most severe.
According to the Shandong provincial water resources department, the province can ensure water for residential use and livestock. Various measures have been taken to guarantee agricultural irrigation as the wheat harvest nears completion.
This month the average precipitation in the province has been 87.8 percent less than the average of the same period in previous years.
Yimeng Mountain area in central Shandong is one of the worst hit by the drought, which resulted from the lack of effective rainfall since spring and the scorching summer heat.
The local authority has adopted a cascade water supply plan using large, medium, and small reservoirs to ensure irrigation water, while also actively guiding farmers to adopt measures such as drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and other methods to save water.
Linyi City, which administers the mountain area, completed the wheat harvest on 4.39 million mu (about 2,927 square kilometers) of fields by June 11.
Farmers lay drip irrigation pipes in a field, preparing to water newly planted corn in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, June 13, 2024. /CFP
On Saturday, to ensure the supply of water for drought relief, the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources increased the discharge from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in Henan Province from 1,500 to 1,800 cubic meters per second. The Xiaolangdi Reservoir is located along the Yellow River, the country's second-longest river.
This followed the commission's decision to launch a level III emergency response for drought prevention in Henan on Friday.
Further north in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, farmers in Chifeng City replaced wheat planting with soybean and buckwheat, which require less water. Farmers in the Xilin Gol League changed wheat cultivation to oats because of the drought.
Yue Kun, deputy chief of the disaster assessment department of the Inner Mongolia Ecological and Agricultural Meteorological Center, said as of June 14, drought had affected 397,600 square kilometers in the region, accounting for 40 percent of the total area of agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry in Inner Mongolia.
The regional agriculture and animal husbandry department has taken precautions and sent technical personnel to guide local authorities in combating the drought.