Hebei activates drought response after low rainfall, heat waves

North China's Hebei province has activated its drought emergency response as it saw its lowest recorded precipitation in the first half of the year since 1956, according to the province's Department of Water Resources.

In the first six months, the province recorded an average precipitation of 123.2 mm, 13 percent less than the average level of the same period in normal years.

In June, Hebei's average precipitation was only 29 mm, 60 percent less than the average in the same period.

Due to poor precipitation and high temperatures, central and northern parts of the province have reported droughts which have impacted about 710,000 hectares of crops in the province.

Most cities in the province have suffered heat waves since June. Temperatures in some places in Baoding, Xiong'an New Area, Shijiazhuang, Cangzhou, Hengshui, Xingtai and Handan are expected to reach 40 to 43 C on Thursday, according to the province’s weather broadcast authority.

The province activated a Level IV drought emergency response on Saturday, the lowest level in the country's four-level emergency response system for disaster relief. Since June 16, 42 million cubic meters of water has been supplied to six rivers in the province along the middle line of China's South-to-North Water Division Project, including Shahe River and Qili River.

The province has also allocated water resources to expand irrigation areas, covering 1.18 million hectares of farmland, in an effort to minimize its losses.