ZHANGBEI COUNTY, CHINA - JULY 15: (CHINA OUT) Farmers work in a field irrigated by a water-saving irrigation facilities built by the local government on July 15, 2005 in Zhangbei County of Hebei Province, north China. Continuous droughts hit Zhangbei County since 2002, the water level in many reservoirs and lakes dropped drastically and some even dried up, according to local officials. More severe droughts have been reported in regions of China as heatwaves stroke the county. According to China Meteorological Administration, droughts are now threatening the northwestern parts of China, the middle parts of north China, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the middle and eastern parts of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the eastern part of Heilongjiang Province and provinces in eastern China. Droughts have wrecked havoc in southern China for three seasons from last autumn to this spring. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
