Drought worsening water shortages in Chongqing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-11 17:12

CHONGQING: Sustained hot weather is continuing to cause havoc in most areas of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, said the local drought control watchdog Friday.

The Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters in Chongqing said on Thursday, 405,000 residents and 294,000 heads of livestock were now suffering from water shortages, up 197,500 people and 165,000 livestock from late August.

The worst hit areas were Pengshui, Qianjiang, Wanzhou and Youyang. In urban areas of Pengshui County, for instance, 20,000 residents were facing water shortages.

Upward of 273,000 hectares of cropland was also facing drought, the relief headquarters said.

The municipal weather service said hot autumn weather in most of the city began a week ago, with the average temperature hovering around 35 degrees Celsius.

Nine urban districts and suburban counties had even monitored weather with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius Tuesday. In Qijiang, southern Chongqing, the mercury rose to 41.9 degrees Celsius.

Consecutive days of hot weather, coupled with less rainfall and rising demand for drinking water, have caused a 10 percent drop in the city's water conservation facilities, said the drought relief headquarters.

The municipal government has ordered local water resource administration departments to ensure no disruption to production and to meet basic demand for drinking water in drought-ridden areas.

Pengzhou County has adopted a host of measures to counter water shortages, including alternating supply of water to different urban areas, and constructing emergency pump works.

Chongqing, with a population of 32.35 million, is a mountainous city upstream of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Two rivers -- the Yangtze and Jialing -- pass through the city.

Apart from Chongqing, six other Chinese regions -- Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hubei and Guangdong provinces, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region -- have been hit by drought, said the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

By Tuesday, 2.75 million people, plus 1.2 million heads of livestock were facing water shortages, and 1.32 million hectares of cropland were suffering from drought in the seven regions, including 96,000 hectares of crops totally scorched.

The regions have spent 340 million yuan (about $50 million) on drought relief efforts since August, and have mobilized more than 5 million people to fight drought.