Chinese authorities say more than 3 million people in Yunnan province are running short of drinking water, as a three-year drought continues to ravage community life, livestock and agriculture in the southwestern province.

Official Chinese media quote Yunnan authorities as saying more than 130,000 hectares of forest land face an increased threat of fire, as more than 500,000 hectares of crops wither.

Television footage showed the parched Xihe riverbed in Weishan county. Locals were quoted as saying about two-thirds of farmers in one local village have sold their large livestock because they lack sufficient water for them.

Drought relief officials say nearly 400 small reservoirs in the province are without water, and say some 250 mid-sized and small rivers are running dry.