The severe drought that is currently plaguing Liaoning and Jilin provinces in northeast China may be alleviated slightly by rainfall in early July, after a record low in the amount of rainfall during June.

Forecasts show that there is set to be 30 to 40 millimeters of rainfall between July 4 and 8 in northeast China, said Song Lianchun from the China Meteorological Administration at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

The temperature in Jilin and Heilongjiang also hit record highs while that in Liaoning was the second highest on record, Song added.

The country's average temperature reached 20.5 degrees Celsius in June, one degree above average and also the second highest since 1951, according to Song.

More than 1.7 million people and 760,000 heads of livestock are still facing drinking water shortages and 183 reservoirs have dried up so far in the drought-stricken region.

The drought, the worst in Liaoning since records began in 1951, has affected 2.15 million hectares of farmland, 68 percent of the province's total.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2007)