Children go thirsty in China following worst drought in 50 years
Women and children are going thirsty as China has declared a state of emergency after the worst drought in half-a-century wiped out crops and left nearly four million without drinking water.
The drought has parched fields across eight provinces in northern China and threatens the incomes of many farmers and those who have lost factory and construction jobs in the global economic crisis.
For longer than 100 days, not a drop of rain has fallen on Beijing, the longest dry spell for 38 years. The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters described the drought as a phenomenon “rarely seen in history,” said The Times newspaper as the Government today (Thursday) declared a state of emergency.
Pictures of young children playing with dead animals amid parched wheat fields are being beamed around the world after major state-run newspapers ran reports of the drought on their front pages.
The authorities expect the drought to last because no rain has been forecast in the affected areas for at least 10 days. The eight provinces, Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and Gansu - are under threat, Xinhua news agency reported. All are major wheat growing areas.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao ordered all-out efforts to fight the drought, allocating 400m yuan ($58m, £40m) in relief assistance, according to the BBC.
The drought could hardly have come at a worse time for the leadership, which is already gearing up for social instability with some 20 million rural migrants now out of work after losing their jobs in coastal factories and in cities. Many have gone back to work their farms while they wait for the economic climate to improve but may now find they are unable to grow a harvest with no water for irrigation. The government is also worried that this will hamper its effort to kick-start spending in rural areas, making it harder to maintain social stability.
Central Henan, the most heavily populated areas and home to the most migrant workers is among the worst hit provinces. No rain has fallen in the province for 105 days, state media said today.
SOS Children has been working in China since 1986 when the first children's community was built in Tianjin (also known as Tientsin), a large city about 100 km south east of Beijing. There are now nine SOS Children communities in China, which between them are home to more than 1000 children.
Written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children
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