Beijing - Around 5 million people were struggling to find drinking water, as high temperatures and a lack of rainfall prolonged drought conditions in northern China, state media reported Sunday.

Since late July, insufficient rainfall in an area spanning Inner Mongolia to Jilin Province in the north-east has led to worsening drought.

A total of 4.61 million people, and more than 4 million head of livestock faced difficulty finding drinking water, while 8.67 million hectares of crops were under threat, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

There are fears that the drought could spread south, as affected regions continued to experience high temperatures and less rainfall, the agency said.

It was the worst drought that Inner Mongolia has seen in five decades, according to an earlier report, with authorities creating artificial rain to fight off the worst impacts.

"We are a family of five. I raise 960 sheep, 44 cattle, 120 horses and 40 camels. Now we have difficulties getting water," Hari Benjin, a villager in Chaoge Ondor Township, Inner Mongolia, was quoted as saying by Xinhua. (dpa)