Approximately 4.4 million people and 2.1 million cattle were starved of drinking water as severe drought hit northern China in early February.

The Ministry of Finance has disbursed at least 86.7 billion yuan (US$12.7 billion) in subsidies to assist farmers with grain production and minimise the impact on rural incomes.

Provincial governments were ordered to deliver money to farmers in the worst hit areas within a month. This served to prevent social unrest, as millions of migrant workers were recently retrenched from their urban jobs and have returned to the countryside. China’s official media described the drought as North China’s worst in half a century. Meteorological officials said that rainfall in the coming weeks would help ease the crisis.