Authorities in China on Wednesday launched emergency response plans to battle the severe drought in Sichuan Province that has affected 7.09 million people so far.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have dispatched working teams to help with relief work.

According to statistics from provincial civil affairs authorities, 41 counties in nine cities have been affected by the drought since July.

As of Wednesday, the persistent drought has left 2.02 million people and 1.18 million heads of livestock short of drinking water.

The drought has also left 415,000 hectares of farmland parched, and rendered 68,000 hectares of land unable to be harvested.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs had previously dispatched emergency response teams of the same level to fight droughts in southwest China's Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces.