According to the China Weather Network, due to the continuous low temperature and the current still weak recovery, the grass return period of Inner Mongolia pastoral areas and the soil thawing date of agricultural areas will be delayed to varying degrees this year. The meteorological department predicted that the situation of soil freezing and less precipitation may lead to aggravation of drought in some areas. From November 2011 to early February 2012, the weather forecast for 30 days in Mi Quan, Xinjiang, showed that the temperatures in Xilingol League and its eastern regions of Inner Mongolia were 1-4℃ lower than the average of the same period in normal years. The meteorological department of Inner Mongolia predicted that the temperature recovery in the northern pastoral areas in March would still be weak. The melting date of grassland snow was later than normal, and the grass return period in central and eastern regions would be delayed by more than 10 days. The insufficient forage would cause the continuous weight loss of livestock in pastoral areas. Meanwhile, the soil thawing date of most agricultural areas would also be about a week later, which might affect the progress of spring sowing production. The low temperature also caused soil freezing, leading to the fact that the precipitation in the area in late January was mainly in the form of snow and ice covering the surface, with only a small amount of water infiltrating into the soil. The dry soil condition further worsened, and some areas even had dried-up machine wells, especially in the pastoral areas where the drought was particularly serious. According to the information on the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as of 9:00 on February 29, there were nearly 8.73 million heads (only) of large livestock in 12 counties (districts, cities, banners) of Ulanqab City facing drinking water difficulties. The "2012 Climate Trend in Inner Mongolia" released earlier by the Meteorological Bureau of Inner Mongolia pointed out that the soil moisture condition in spring this year was poor, and the possibility of drought was relatively high, especially in the middle and western regions where there might be a severe spring drought. The drought situation was expected to be more serious than in the past three years.