Chinese cities break heat records, stressing electricity grid
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Since March, China has experienced higher-than-normal temperatures.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEIJING - Several cities in northern China this week broke heat records for June, with soaring temperatures straining the country’s electricity supplies and leading the authorities to hold mock emergency drills.
Since March, China has experienced higher-than-normal temperatures.
On Thursday, Shijiazhuang in Hebei province became the first provincial capital city to hit 40 deg C this year, according to state media. Zhangjiakou and Chengde, cities in the same province, also broke temperature records for June, according to CCTV.
By 10am on Friday, the meteorological administration had issued a slew of heightened heat warnings.
Capital city Beijing is expected to broil in 37 deg C to 39 deg C temperatures until Saturday, and the Tianjin’s meteorological observatory raised its warning level to red with temperatures expected to hit 40 deg C.
The persistent heat has already put the country’s power grid operators on high alert, with some cities in the south warning firms and people to curb usage.
China’s National Energy Administration on Thursday staged a power emergency drill on the state grid’s East China network, simulating a power surge and an outage to prepare its early warning and power management mechanisms.
The East China regional grid, which serves economically key cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, expects a peak load of more than 397 gigawatts (GW) this summer.
That is greater than the total electricity generation capacity of Japan, according to 2021 data from the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Also on Thursday, Shanghai’s state-owned energy and water companies released measures to meet the summer’s power and water demands, aiming to prevent potential shortages that hit the country last year.
Last month, Shanghai registered its hottest May day in over a century. REUTERS
