Drought Continues to Plague Shandong Province, Causing a Shortage of Drinking Water for 1.24 Million People in this Major Agricultural Area

(Clearwisodm.net) [Editors' note: Throughout history, the theme that a nation's fate is closely tied to the virtue of its leaders and people has been prevalent in both Chinese and Western culture and lore. Many wise, virtuous rulers have led their nations to peace and prosperity, while conversely, moral decay in high places has led to the downfall of great empires. These articles are meant to serve as a reminder and wake-up call for those who are leading or participating in large-scale acts of violence and injustice. As Teacher Li Hongzhi said in Essentials for Further Advancement, "When people do not have virtue, natural calamities and man-made disasters will abound."]

(China News Agency, July 18, Jinan, Shandong Province) Continuous high temperatures and low precipitation has caused a serious drought situation in Shandong Province, a major agricultural area of China. By July 15, the drought had affected 16.5 million Mu (1 Mu = 0.1647 acre) of farmland and 1.24 million people. In addition, 820,000 livestock suffered a temporary shortage of drinking water.

It was reported that since the beginning of the traditional major flood season, compared to the same period in past years, the average precipitation in Shandong Province decreased by 85% and at the same time, the average temperature was 1.4^oC higher this July. Especially in Jinan and some other areas, the temperature had been continuously over 40 ^oC, a record high in 50 years. Currently the water shortage makes it difficult to offset the drought in the province and 7.89 million Mu of farmland lack irrigation water.

Currently in Shandong Province, the Jinan, Tai'an and Weifang districts have over one million Mu of farmland each affected by the drought. The drought is most severe in Linyi City, with 2.3 million Mu affected.

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