China creates rains in drought-hit provinces

Photo taken on Feb. 7, 2008, shows

raindrops on wheat seedlings in Zhongmou County, Henan Province, central

China. (Chinese media Photo)
Photo

Gallery

BEIJING,

Feb. 8 (Chinese media) -- China employed artificial means to create rains in at least

seven provinces on Saturday to alleviate rare drought, the China Meteorological

Administration (CMA) said Sunday.

Local weather-control officials had fired a total of

2,392 artillery shells and launched 409 rockets in 127 cloud-seeding operations

by 10 p.m. Saturday, according to a statement on the CMA website.

Rain-enhancing practices were adopted in such

drought-stricken provincial regions as Henan, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi,

Hubei and Anhui, it said.

In central China's Henan, artificial precipitation

brought on average 0.5 millimeters of rainfall to 17 counties and cities. The

province, a major wheat-producing area, is suffering the worst drought in half a

century.

Parts of the artificially moistened provinces and

north China's Hebei Province saw one to five millimeters of rain from Saturday

to Sunday morning, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) reported.

Parts of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Anhui and Hubei will

see thick clouds during Sunday daytime, favorable for more rain-inducing

measures, said the CMA.

The NMC forecast rain and snow on Sunday and Monday

in parts of northwest, southwest and central China.

China has declared the highest level of emergency in

response to the drought that began to hit most parts of northern China in

November.

The foul weather had affected 161 million mu (10.7

million hectares) of crops, 4.37 million people and 2.1 million heads of

livestock across the country as of Thursday.

Meteorologist: More rain expected in

drought-hit north China

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Chinese media) -- After some parts of the

drought-stricken north China embraced the long-awaited rain on Saturday, more

rainfall was expected to come on Sunday, said National Meteorological Center

(NMC) on Saturday.

Rain or snow is forecast for Sunday and next Monday

in parts of the northwest and southwest China. They will also spread to the

country's north and central regions, according to the NMC. Full story

Rainfall expected in drought-hit

central Chinese province
src="http://imgs.Chinese medianet.com/icon/icon/video1.gif"

border=0>

BEIJING, Feb. 7 -- A top weather expert said four to five periods of rain are expected in central China's drought-stricken Henan Province over the next three weeks.

Zhao Guoqiang, vice-deputy director of the Meteorological Administration of Henan, made the promising announcement on Thursday.

Chinese president, premier order

all-out anti-drought efforts

Photo taken on Feb. 5, 2009 shows a dead

wheat seedling in the farmland of Taiping township of Huining County,

northwest China's Gansu Province. The county has suffered from serious

drought since September 2008 with about 150,667 hektares of farmland and

184,000 people and 326,000 livestocks short of water. (Chinese media/Han

Chuanhao)
Photo

Gallery

BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Chinese media) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao

and Premier Wen Jiabao have ordered all-out efforts to combat the severe drought

in the country's vast wheat-growing area to ensure a good summer harvest, a

State Council meeting was told Thursday.

The central government on Thursday decided to earmark another 300 million yuan (44 million U.S. dollars) as drought relief fund in additional to 100 million yuan already allocated. The fund will be used to buy agricultural machinery and other production materials.

China declares highest level of

emergency for worst drought in 50 years
src="http://imgs.Chinese medianet.com/icon/icon/video1.gif" border=0>

People barrel drinking water supplied by the local government at Chengguan Township in Ruyang County of Luoyang City, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 4, 2009. The city had received a reduced effective rainfall since October 2008, almost 80 percent less than in the same period of previous years. The local government has allocated some 25 million yuan (3.65 million U.S. dollars) for drought relief and crops protection. (Chinese media/Gao Shanyue)
Photo Gallery

BEIJING, Feb 5 (Chinese media) -- China raised the drought emergency class Thursday from level two to level one, the highest alert, in response to the worst drought to hit northern China in half a century, according to a State Council meeting.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have

ordered all-out efforts to combat the severe drought in the country's vast

wheat-growing area to ensure a good summer harvest, according to a State Council

meeting held Thursday.

China ramps up spending to blunt

impact of prolonged drought



BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Chinese media) -- China, the world's biggest agricultural country in

terms of farm population, might find it hard to bring in a good harvest this

year, with a four-month drought tightening its grip on large sections of the

country's northern half.

The drought has added to the woes of the nation's rural

economy, which has been affected by falling commodity prices amid the global

downturn. All these pressures will make it more difficult for China to stabilize

grain production, increase farm incomes and expand rural markets.

Drought threatens China wheat

production

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Chinese media) -- Lack of rainfall has led to

severe drought in northern China, affecting more than 140 million mu (9.3

million hectares) of wheat, said the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Tuesday.

By February 2, 141 million mu wheat in six major grain

production provinces, including Henan, Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu and

Shaanxi, were hit by drought, Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said at a video

conference called to coordinate drought relief efforts.

China asks for more efforts to cope

with severe drought

BEIJING, Feb. 3 (Chinese media) -- Different levels of

governments should collect strength to combat drought, which has crippled

China's agriculture, said Vice Premier Hui Liangyu Tuesday.

He urged efforts to give drought-relief work top

priority.
N China to face continuous drought,

persistent efforts needed

BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Chinese media) -- Severe drought in north China

was expected to continue as no rain has been forecasted for the next ten days,

the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and the China Meteorological Administration

(CMA) said Monday.

The ministries said the current situation remained grim

and called for prolonged fight against the extreme drought that began last

November.