Drought in some of China's main agricultural regions has worsened and spread in recent weeks, despite local government efforts to provide drought relief and attempts to induce rain.

While the central Henan province was initially the hardest hit, unseasonably dry weather elsewhere has caused drought conditions to spread.

Jilin province, another major cereal growing region has slipped into drought; parts of the province have seen their lowest rainfall levels since 1951 (when records began), seriously hampering the development of grain crops. In Liaoning province, which borders Jilin, there has been no rainfall since July.

In the North-East, where soy, rice and maize are all grown, officials said that the dry weather had come at the worst possible time for maize crops.

State television channel CCTV has reported that around one third of the world's most populous country is in drought, with regions in the North-East worst hit. In all, reports suggest that between one and two million hectares have been affected and the area under drought is expected to rapidly increase.  

Beyond the agricultural impact of drought, in large areas of Henan, villages and towns are without water for drinking and washing, and remain reliant on supplies being bussed in from elsewhere.  

The drought has been accorded emergency status, though it currently only occupies the lowest level of the government's emergency response system.

Local authorities have authorised cloud seeding operations in a bid to induce rainfall, though these appear to have been largely unsuccessful. Officials in Liaoning have said they are prepared to launch rockets to trigger rainfall, if necessary.

Although it is wreaking havoc in rural areas, the drought is unlikely to affect food security in China, thanks to several years of good harvests, which means the country's reserves remain well stocked. Throughout China as a whole, early indications suggest that grain production could rise once more this year.

Authorities have said the drought has been triggered by abnormal El Nino phenomenon, which often causes a shift in rainfall from Northern to Southern China, though hydrologists in affected regions suggested that unsustainable consumption of water resources prior to the drought conditions may have exacerbated the situation earlier this month.