This year's imports threaten to be even larger. In Iraq , the drought has severely reduced cultivated area and cut 2000 cereal harvests. In 1999, similar drought conditions and widespread pests and weeds reduced cereal output by nearly 40 percent compared to the average for the previous five years. The livestock sector was also severely affected. In Pakistan , drought has devastated Baluchistan province in the west and Sindh province in the south.
Reports indicate that several hundred people have died because of the drought.
Several million livestock are in a precarious condition. In India , several states have been hit by serious drought and thousands of livestock have died. Most of the reservoirs in the north and western parts of the state are reported to have dried up and water levels in tubewells have dropped sharply. Large numbers of people and livestock are moving away from the worst affected areas. Other states affected by the drought include Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.