Drought hits hard in Henan; crops hurt

Henan province issued an orange alert for drought on Wednesday, as 72 national meteorological centers in 16 cities recorded severe heat for 10 consecutive days, the Henan Meteorological Center said.

It is estimated that the drought will continue until June 20.

The center advised local governments and authorities to take precautions, such as activating backup water resources, limiting water use for industries that consume large amounts of water and conducting atmospheric seeding operations to generate precipitation artificially.

Yang Yajun, an official with the Henan Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that for the time being, water conservation measures are adequate for agricultural uses, but continued heat might have negative impact on the growth of crops.