National concern

The severe drought in the southwest have grabbed media headlines and become increasingly a major national concern. It has left tens of millions residents with water shortages and caused direct economic losses of 19 billion yuan (2.8 billion U.S. dollars).

Premier Wen Jiabao paid a three-day trip to Yunnan that ended Sunday to direct relief efforts.

Wen said priority should be given to drinking water supply and preparations for spring farming, urging local authorities to prepare for the worst as the drought "is likely to continue".

The world marked the 18th water day on Monday, as lack of water has become a global issue, with the United Nations estimating that by 2025, two-thirds of the planet's population will live with water shortages.

China in particular faces severe shortages in its goal for more sustainable economic and social development. Its per capita freshwater resources were only 2,200 cubic meters, about a quarter of the world average.

Of China's 600 cities, more than 400 suffer chronic water shortages, according to Ministry of Water Resources.

Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources, told Xinhua that China will step up water conservation and environment protection and put in place strict management on water resources to tackle the increasingly acute water shortages.

Chen added that China has a huge population but small water resources that were unequally distributed among geographical regions and four seasons.

For the northwestern province of Gansu, drought is routine. In its Huining County, residents are storing up water for possible water supply cut-offs.

The county was hit by widespread tap water supply disruption from late April to early May last year.

"We used to see drought in nine of ten years, but now there is likely a drought each year," said Zhang Xu, government head of Liujiazhai township in Huining. The county received 120 mm of rainfall in 2008 and 90 mm in 2009.

"We won't be able to plant spring crops should there be no rain," said Chen Peng, a villager in Liujiazhai.