© Xinhua/Zhu Zheng
The dried cornfield is seen in the mountainous area of Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 18, 2011.
An extreme shortage of rain or snow this winter has blighted China's chief food-producing areas.
Agricultural production across four million hectares has fallen dangerously in what is the worst drought in six decades.Across the provinces which help feed cities of northern China, precipitation is at precariously low levels.
Shandong province has had only 12mm (½in) of rain since last September, 15 per cent of the normal level. Despite more than 4,000 pumping stations continuing to supply water, the situation remains severe.
The drought, which began in October, has hit the southwest parts of Shandong hardest, putting further pressure on politically sensitive food prices that have been surging for months.
"It's hard to know when it will rain. We must prepare for the worst and do our best to combat the drought to ensure a good harvest," premier Wen Jiabao said during a new year visit to a reservoir in Qufu, one of the worst affected areas.
