North Korean media on Thursday urged citizens to mobilize all efforts into securing water supplies, warning of a “race against time” amid a major fall in average precipitation.

In a front-page commentary, the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), said the average precipitation across the country between December and January had been 3.6 millimeter.

This, the newspaper said, was “far below” previous years, and was caused by a decrease in snowfall.

“Securing more water and using it in an effective manner is a very significant and pressing task for various sectors of the people’s economy,