Snow, sleet damage crops in southwest China

Sleet and snow have damaged more than 2 million mu (130,000 hectares) of crops in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said Thursday.

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, 2.3 million mu of crops including wheat and barley had been damaged, and more than 60,000 mu of additional crops were wiped out, the provincial agricultural department said.

The weather also wreaked havoc on tropical and subtropical cash crops such as coffee and tea, fruit farms and agricultural facilities in the province.

Yunnan experienced a sharp temperature drop on Jan. 9 and 10. Heavy rainfall hit its southwestern parts and flooded fields, while snow and sleet hit northeastern parts of the province.