Some 196,000 people have no access to drinking water because of a severe drought in northwest China, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has received only 30% of normal precipitation in the past six months, and the situation was exacerbated by 35-degree heat in June.

A total of 35 towns are affected by the drought. In several settlements reservoirs have dried up completely and people have to travel about 30 kilometers to get water. The dry conditions are affecting not just the human population but also some 1.2 million cattle.

Several areas of China have been suffering with droughts since the beginning of the year. Conditions turned severe in June in Tibet, where no precipitation has fallen for several months in some areas.
sections: Accidents