[Edited from China Daily

By August 1, 110 million hectares of arable land had been hit by drought, nearly 2 million hectares more than in previous years, according to the latest statistics from the Office of the State Flood Control and Draught Relief Headquarters.

Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, Hunan, and Jilin provinces, and the autonomous regions of the Inner Mongolia and Guangxi Zhuang are the worst hit.

About one-third of arable land in the provinces of Jiangxi, Heilongjiang and Hunan have been affected.

The drought "poses a grave threat" to the autumn harvest Sun said during an inspection tour in Jiangxi yesterday.

Jiangxi is experiencing a drought that is estimated to occur only once in 50 years, with 866,000 hectares of crops affected.

Sun said the drought-stricken regions were the key grain production bases in China.