45-day drought scorches vast swathes of crops

A farmer in Liutong village, Guiyang city of Southwest China's Guizhou province points to his fields of dead corn on Aug 7 after a prolonged devastating drought. The village has seen no rain for more than 45 days in a row, leaving 2,533.3 hectares of farmlands affected, half almost destroyed. Some 16,000 villagers and 600 livestock are also short of drinking water.[Qiao Qiming/Asianewsphoto]