Southwest China's Yunnan province is ready to use weather manipulation measures to relieve an ongoing drought, the China Meteorological Administration said Friday.

Since Feb 27, a severe drought has caused water shortages for some 3.2 million people in the province. Some factories and mines have suspended production with economic losses surpassing 10 billion yuan ($ 1.6 billion), according to local authorities.

China Meteorological Administration spokesman Chen Zhenlin said that “three experts have been sent to Yunnan to help the local meteorological bureau analyze proper weather conditions for seeding clouds and to provide other technical support."

According to the agency's weather forecast, the area will see rainfall of less than 8 mm over the weekend. No more precipitation is expected before mid-March.