The finance authorities in Tibet allocated another 10 million yuan (1.47 million U.S. dollars) Tuesday to combat a drought that has lasted for more than seven months in parts of the plateau region.

Finance authorities previously earmarked 30 million yuan for efforts to combat the drought.

The drought, the worst in 30 years, has affected 33,627 hectares of cropland, 8,313 ha of forests and 2,027 ha of grassland, said a spokesman with the flood control and drought relief headquarters of Tibet Autonomous Region.

The dry spell also led to the deaths of 13,601 cattle, the spokesman said. "Economic losses caused by the drought have reached 58.76 million yuan," he said.

The dry weather has caused water shortages for rural residents, and the water level in major rivers and lakes has dropped, he said.

Some areas got rain Monday but not enough to ease the drought, he added.

Conditions have been exacerbated by above-normal temperatures, which have run 0.4 to 2.3 degrees Celsius higher than normal years, according to the local observatory.

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2009)