More than 660,000 people, mainly in Yunnan, Gansu and Hebei provinces, don't have adequate drinking water due to a drought, the People's Daily reported on Thursday.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Monday that the precipitation in Southwest China and in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was smaller than in the northern areas this winter.

The drought has affected more than 18.47 million mu (1.23 million hectares) of farmland as well as 280,000 animals, it said.

The drought is due to a lack of rainfall in southwestern and northwestern parts of China since October 2012.