Drought conditions continue to affect farming and water supplies across many parts of China.

In the central province of Hubei, for example, about 150,000 people and 50,000 livestock have faced difficulty in getting drinking water, according to a Xinhua report. With about 1.6m acres of farmland affected by the drought, Hubei’s role as one of the country’s major grain and cotton producers has been affected, according to provincial governor Wang Guosheng.

The neighbouring provinces of Jiangxi and Hunan, also leading grain producers, have been similarly impacted. Jiangxi’s average rainfall in the first four months of 2011 stood at 253mm, 46 per cent of the average level, according to the province’s Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The drought has also disrupted water supplies in the eastern province of Anhui, which has seen its lowest rainfall levels for the same period since 1949. Further south, in Guangdong province, precipitation levels have been at their lowest for 60 years.

However relief in the form of rainfall has recently been experienced in some regions, including parts of Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

China will strive to improve its water conservation facilities over the next five to 10 years, according to a document issued jointly by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.