Two children play in a dried-up pool at Xiniushi Village in Daying County of Suining City, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006. Southwest Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou, northwest Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Ningxia and central Hubei have been badly affected by a drought that has affected 17.6 million hectares of farmland since April. [Xinhua]

Weather forecasts offer little hope of rainfall in the next few days in the upper and middle reaches of the river, including Sichua Province and Chongqing Municipality, where farmers are facing blistering drought.

Chongqing is suffering the worst drought in the past 50 years and water supplies for nearly 7.5 million people have been threatened, local authorities said yesterday.

More than 1.3 million hectares of cropland have been affected, according to a spokesman for the Chongqing Municipal Disaster Relief Office.

"Two thirds of the communities and townships in the municipality have reported water supply shortages," he said.

The drought has caused direct losses of about 2.5 billion yuan (US$312.5 million), he said.

The dry spell has lasted for more than 50 days in most areas of Chongqing, the spokesman said.

In neighbouring Sichuan, the drought has made it difficult for more than 3 million people and 4 million livestock to access drinking water. Meanwhile, nearly 1.4 million hectares of cropland have been affected, or 39 per cent of the total in the drought-hit areas.

"Sichuan is suffering its worst drought since 1972," said Zhang Shilin, director of the office responsible for artificial rainfall.