South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which has been suffering a severe drought since January, is planning to use artificial methods to bring more rainfall for the spring sowing season.

According to the regional weather bureau, the rainfall in the period between mid-January to late February only averaged 41.2 millimeters in Guangxi, 50 percent less than the normal amount, which has caused droughts of varying degrees in some 50 counties in the region.

The drought will not only seriously hamper the growth of corn, rice and sugarcane and other crops in Guangxi, but will also cause difficulty in curbing plant diseases and insect pests, said Yang Zhenqiu a senior engineer with the weather bureau.

The departments concerned will use planes, artillery and rockets to produce more rainfall in the region during the coming two months, sources said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2003)