北方旱情（英文）

The drought in north China is getting worse.

officials changed the warning color from blue to yellow which alarms advancement in drought severity.

The office of flood control and drought relief headquarters said Shanxi had only received 20.4 millimeters of rain since October 2008. The same four month period in 2007 had 49.7 mm of rain which is 59 percent more.

A total of 2.07 million hectares of farmland across the parched province have been affected by the drought, including 544,000 hectares of crops, according to the office.

The local weather observatory predicts no major precipitation in the near future.

Because the drought warning is now yellow, the provincial government is allocating 10 million yuan (1.47 million U.S. dollars) to subsidize operations to fight the drought.

Locals were also told to preserve the safety of drinking water for humans and livestock.

中國北方旱情日益嚴峻

官方已經把旱情預警級別從藍色提升到了黃色。

防汛抗旱指揮部的官員說，自去年10月份以來，山西省的降水量只有20.4毫米，而07年同期該省降水量為49.7毫米，同比下降59%。

以山西省為例，受災農田總面積為207萬公頃其中包括長有農作物的受災面積54萬公頃。

當地氣象部門預計短期內不會有明顯的降水。

鑒於目前的旱情，山西省政府已調撥1000萬元專項資金用於抗旱。並要求全力保障人畜的飲水安全。