(Francisco Salazar & Olga Rodriguez/AP)
DURANGO, Mexico – The sun-baked northern states of Mexico are suffering under the worst drought since the government began recording rainfall 70 years ago. Crops of corn, beans and oats are withering in the fields. About 1.7 million cattle have died of starvation and thirst.
Hardest hit are five states in Mexico’s north, a region that is being parched by the same drought that has dried out the southwest United States. The government is trucking water to 1,500 villages scattered across the nation’s northern expanse, and sending food to poor farmers who have lost all their crops.
Life isn’t likely to get better soon. The next rainy season isn’t due until June, and there’s no guarantee normal rains will come then. (Read full story here)
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