Drinking water shortage hits two mn in China

A lingering drought in southwest China's Guizhou province has left more than 2.5 million people facing a shortage of drinking water, officials said.

About 15.6 million people in 1,236 towns have been affected by the drought since July, the China Daily reported.

Around 2.64 million lack drinking water, the flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

Some 1.23 million hectares of farmland have been affected in the drought that has caused an economic loss of 8.6 billion yuan (around $1.4 billion).