Wider grim picture

Yao ethnic minority residents in the mountainous Nengwai village in Guangxi have to walk more than one hour to fetch water on horseback from a river seven kilometers away.

In Guangxi, the drought has damaged 476,050 hectares of crops and left 2.2 million people with drinking water shortages.

Many reservoirs have dried up, with huge cracks appearing on the reservoir bottoms. The dry weather has forced the closure of more than half of hydropower stations in Hechi City.

In Sichuan, the drought is worsened by higher than normal temperature since mid March. The temperature in Sichuan Basin is seven to 10 degrees Celsius higher than average levels.

In Panzhihua City in Sichuan, there has been no rainfall for almost half a year and so it is even a luxury to take a bath or wash dishes. Some villagers even haven't taken a bath for two months.

In mountainous Guizhou, more than 3 million residents are short of food.

The once famous and powerful Huangguoshu waterfall has now become more like a stream. The waterfall is at least the smallest size since it was opened to public in 1980s, said Wang Daoxiang, deputy general manager of Huangguoshu Tourism Group Co..

In Anshun City where the waterfall is located, more than 90 percent of rivers and reservoirs have dried up.

The drought, already the worst in sixty years, will continue to worsen as Guizhou expects no substantial rainfall in the coming month, according to local weather forecasts.