By Xinhua,
Beijing: A severe drought threatens 8.3 million hectares of crops in northern China, which produces 30 percent of the country’s autumn grain output, the agriculture ministry said Saturday.
The ministry Saturday declared a third-level emergency in response to the drought.
The standing crops in the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and Shanxi, and in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, are seriously affected by the drought, the ministry said on its website.
The drought quickly expanded in the region due to the insufficient rainfall and high temperatures since late July, said Wei Chao’an, vice minister of agriculture.
The ministry has dispatched three teams to undertake safety measures in the worst hit regions of Liaoning, Jilin and Inner Mongolia.
The National Meteorological Centre has, however, forecast rainfalls in the region from Monday till Wednesday.