(Shanghai) Shanghai will temporarily turn off decorative lights around its famous Bund Avenue on Monday and Tuesday, the city hall said, as a heat wave in China forced authorities to ration electricity.
Posted at 2:24 p.m.
Several provinces have imposed restrictions in recent days in the face of the heat wave that is affecting the country and has pushed temperatures up to 45 degrees in places.
This heat wave led to a drop in the levels of the rivers, and therefore in the production of hydroelectric energy. A decrease that puts the electrical network under pressure while the air conditioners are running at full speed.
China is being hit this summer by record high temperatures, flash floods and droughts. Phenomena that are becoming more frequent due to climate change, according to scientists.
To save electricity, Shanghai City Hall called on Sunday night to turn off “decorative illuminations” along Bund Avenue and across the Huangpu River in part of the Lujiazui district.
The Bund Avenue is particularly known for offering a breathtaking view of the skyscrapers of Lujiazui, illuminated with a thousand lights in the evening with countless giant advertising screens and even beams of light.
But all decorative lighting and video screens will have to be turned off on Monday and Tuesday, the municipal office responsible for green spaces and the appearance of the city said.
China’s heatwave has lowered the level of the Yangtze River, the country’s most important inland waterway, to unprecedented levels in some places, official data showed.
In the southwest Chongqing municipality-province, home to 31 million people, shopping malls will temporarily only be able to open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to save electricity, authorities said Monday.
The measure will be applied until “the temperature and the supply and demand situation” return to acceptable levels, they said.
Extended rations
In the neighboring province of Sichuan (southwest), the authorities have activated the highest level of emergency in the face of the heat wave.
Since last week, Sichuan has been rationing electricity, with many factories and businesses shut down and intermittent power outages for some residents.
Major automakers like Toyota have factories in the province. It is also home to many parts manufacturers that play a crucial role in global automotive supply chains.
Electricity rationing was due to end on Saturday, but was extended until Thursday, according to Chinese media Caixin.
These difficulties pose a challenge to China’s economic lifeblood, as the coastal regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang (east) are powered by electricity from Sichuan.