儘管清晨仍有絲絲寒意，但到了七點半，手機鬧鐘響了，李彥博（音譯）便迅速地從溫暖的被窩中爬起來。他提起兩個塑料水桶奔向村子的中心位置，消防車每天都會來這裡一次，為居民們提供水源。
The morning was a bit cold, but Li Yanbo quickly got out of his warm bed when his cellphone alarm rang at 7:30. He picked up two plastic buckets and rushed to the center of the village, where a fire engine arrives once a day to provide water for residents.
24歲的農民李彥博住在距昆明60公里的嵩明縣李關村。由於村裡唯一的水庫已乾涸，在過去的三個月裡，他一直起早去消防車那裡打水。已經6個月沒有下雨了。
Li, a 24-year-old farmer, lives in Liguan village, Songming county – about 60km away from Kunming. For the last three months, he has risen early to meet the fire truck because the village’s only reservoir has dried up. Rain hasn’t fallen for six months.
李彥博趕到那時已經排起了長龍。來自600多戶，約4000多名缺少飲用水的村民手裡拿著空水桶，站在消防車後方。
The queue is extremely long by the time Li arrives. About 4,000 thirsty villagers, representing some 600 households, come with their empty buckets and stand behind the truck.
李彥博說：“我家每天能得到兩三桶水。這些水可做飲用，洗衣，做飯等用途。如果每天能攢下一點，那我們每週可以稍稍衝一下澡。”
“My family gets two or three buckets of water every day. We use them for drinking, washing and cooking,” said Li. “If we save a little every day, then once a week we can have a brief shower.”
去年秋天李彥博種了兩畝蠶豆，但由於乾旱顆粒無收。放在平常季節，收割大豆後他就會開始種植稻米。但是地裡旱得厲害，他甚至都沒辦法耕田。
Li planted two mu of broad beans last autumn, but he has seen no yield because of the drought. During a normal season, he would plant rice after harvesting the beans. But the field is so dry that he can’t even plough it.
李彥博說：“大米是我們全家（包括父母和弟弟）的`食物。我們沒有多餘的錢來買大米。”
“The rice is food for my family – my parents and younger brother. We have no budget to buy rice from the market,” said Li.
同村裡大多數人一樣，李彥博的家裡也是靠種菸草維生。通常，三畝菸葉可以帶來近一萬元的收益。但現在，沒有水來播種，就連他們唯一的收入來源也枯竭了。
Like most people in his village, growing tobacco provides the family’s meal ticket. Normally, Li’s three mu of tobacco earns him near 10,000 yuan. But now, with no water for seeding, their only source of income has dried up.
當地政府正在尋找新水源，來幫助千千萬萬像李彥博這樣的家庭。上週國土資源部正式宣佈，截止至5月底，將在包括嵩明縣在內的10個縣區挖掘1100口新水井。但對此李彥博並不十分樂觀。
Local governments are trying to help families like Li’s by hunting for new water resources. The Ministry of Land and Resources announced last week that 1,100 new wells would be dug in 10 counties, including Li’s, by the end of May. But Li is not very optimistic.
李彥博說：“我鄰居家就有一口井。過去井水是滿的，你不用繩子就能打到水，但現在那口井已經枯了。所以即使在其他地方打一口新井，也可能是相同的結果。”
“My neighbor has a well. In the past, it was full and you could get water without using a rope, but now it is empty,” said Li. “So even if you dig a new well in some other place, the result will likely be the same.”
李彥博認為，合理防旱的方法不僅侷限如此，像植樹就是個可行的辦法。
In Li’s opinion, there are more sustainable ways to prevent a drought, such as planting more trees.
樹木憑藉他們龐大的根系來儲藏水源。但在過去的18年裡，雲南的森林覆蓋率已從63%減少到33%。
Trees conserve water with their large roots. But in Yunnan, forest coverage has decreased from 63 percent to 33 percent over the last 18 years.
李彥博說：“小時候，父親會帶我上山並告訴我他年輕時是如何砍柴引火的。如今，由於沒有樹木來保障地下水源供給，水庫周圍變得寸草不生。”
“When I was a child, my father would take me up the mountain and tell me how he used to cut down trees and use them as firewood when he was young,” said Li. “Now the land around the reservoir is barren – there are no trees protecting the underground water supply.”
他表示，旱情真實地驗證了節約用水的重要性。
Li says the drought has served as a reality check on the importance of water conservation.
“從中我也學到了，如果我們合理用水，兩桶水就足夠一家四口一天的用水量。我們可以從多種途徑對其迴圈利用。每滴水都彌足珍貴。我希望人們能意識到這點。”
“It has taught me that, if we use water efficiently, two buckets a day should be enough for four family members. We can recycle the water for multiple uses,” said Li. “Every drop of water is precious. I hope people realize this.”