Drought situation continues to improve

The area of farmland affected by severe drought in North China has fallen by more than a third from its peak on Feb 7 to just under 100 million mu (6.6 million hectares) yesterday, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said.

The figure fell by 4.71 million mu yesterday, as authorities continue to go all out to fight the country's worst drought for decades, it said.

Of the affected area, 29 million mu is "seriously threatened" and 4.2 million mu has dried out, it said.