Due to high temperatures and rain shortages since July, a drought in parts of East China and regions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has continued. A total of 424,600 hectares of crops and 4.408 million people have been affected by the lingering drought, causing direct economic losses of 1.61 billion yuan (about $227.5 million). (Photos: VCG and China Daily)

This aerial photo taken on October 14 shows a shoal of the Ganjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, in Nanchang, capital of East China's Jiangxi Province.

Drought has turned what was a pond into dry land in Hefei, Anhui Province on October 22. Eleven cities in Anhui are suffering from drought due to high temperatures and little rainfall since September.

A farmer shows the drought-stricken fields in Fuzhou city, East China's Jiangxi Province, on October 12.

The central government has jointly activated a level-IV emergency response for severe drought in Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. Drought in the provinces of Shanxi, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan has been severe.