Drought conditions since early July in southwest China’s Guizhou province have created a water shortage for 5.5m people and 2.8m livestock, local authorities said. Hundreds of reservoirs and rivers have dried up, and drinking water supplies have shrunk.

Looking ahead, there is expected to be little rain in Guizhou before mid-September, according to a meteorological monitoring report.

Drought has also affected Sichuan province, leaving 1.68m people and 1.25m livestock short of drinking water, said Yang Hai, deputy head of the provincial agricultural water bureau’s drought relief office al. “Some counties and cities in Sichuan have been dealing with the drought for more than 50 days,” he said.