Saturday, June 21, 2025
  • Who’sWho Africa AWARDS
  • About Time Africa Magazine
  • Contact Us
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
  • Home
  • Magazine
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • World News
    • US
    • UAE
    • Europe
    • UK
    • Israel-Hamas
    • Russia-Ukraine
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Column
  • Interviews
  • Special Report
No Result
View All Result
Time Africa Magazine
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
  • News
  • Magazine
  • World News

Home » Featured » Climate crisis forces China to ration electricity

Climate crisis forces China to ration electricity

Forest fires, droughts and heatwaves across the country is forcing provinces to reduce power consumption

August 31, 2022
in Featured, World News
0
540
SHARES
4.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

There were still some streetlights on the Bund, one of the main roads in central Shanghai. But the decorative lights which light up the city skyline – blue, pink, and red – were turned off for two days to cope with the peaking power demand.

The power restriction imposed by the city authorities, was the first in Shanghai, the financial hub of China. But across the rest of the country similar restrictions have been put in place, as cities, notably in the south-western region, grapple with ongoing power shortages caused by devastating droughts this summer.

In Sichuan, a top-level energy emergency alert was issued to address the province’s power shortages, a first in the province’s history: the alert means that residents will be given priority for power supplies. Sichaun is known for its abundant hydro energy, which provides 80% of its power, and is a vital link in China’s extensive West-to-East Electricity Transfer Project.

But the area has been hit by record-breaking high temperatures, unseen in 60 years. With water in the region’s rivers dropping to historical lows, hydropower plants are only producing half the energy they were generating this time last year.

Sichuan had already imposed rolling blackouts across factories, and international companies have had to halt production, while the coal-fired plants are all at full stretch.

ReadAlso

Children swept away in school bus among at least 49 killed in South Africa flooding

Trump signals fresh trade tensions with China

But even so, cities around Sichuan are struggling to meet surging power demands from residential communities, with people’s daily lives being heavily affected. In Dazhou, residents in one community complain that power supplies have been cut for 6-7 hours each day for nearly a week, leaving many flocking to a nearby bridge in the evening to beat the sweltering summer heat, according to Jiupai News.

Private business owners are also hit hard as power supplies are rationed among communities and shopping malls. In Chengdu, a restaurant owner complained on China’s equivalent of TikTok, Douyin, saying: “It’s getting extremely hard for us in the food and beverage industry this year. We barely made it through the Covid restrictions earlier this year and now we’re being hit by a power shortage.”

ADVERTISEMENT

“We’ve been eagerly looking forward to July and August, which are usually the high season for us, but it all seems to be just a pipe dream now.”

The disruptions are being felt all over the country, with cross-regional business activities and supply chains being hit in various ways. The price of commodities such as silicon metal has risen due to the power restrictions, and there are growing concerns about a shortage of automobile parts in Shanghai for companies including the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Tesla.

Meanwhile, cities including Chongqing, Luzhou in Sichuan and Chishui in Guizhou, all in the greater southwestern part of China, are also battling forest fires caused by lack of rain and extreme heat.

In Chongqing alone, between 18 and 21 August, at least five forest fires have been reported in districts including Jiangjin, Dazu, Tongliang, Ba’nan and Nanchuan, adding more woes to the already-strained government.

The droughts have also been causing problems for farmers, with a shortage of drinking water among nearly 200,000 livestocks across farms in Sichuan. About 433,000 hectares (1,069,966 acres) of crops have been affected by the water shortages, with the resulting direct economic loss amounting to 3.5bn yuan, according to data released by Sichuan’s emergency management authorities.

Like China, countries in the northern hemisphere are experiencing unprecedented heatwaves and droughts this year, which reminds the world once again the stark reality of climate change.

Riding the tides of the current crisis, calls for more awareness of this immense global challenge are rising on Chinese social media. On Twitter-like social media platform Weibo, one hashtag going as “Help Earth Reduce 1°C”, which was initiated by the Chinese NEV giant BYD, has gained more than 120m views.

In its description, the company calls upon the public to pay more attention to global warming. The hashtag has since been reposted by state-run-media accounts including The People’s Daily and Xinhua news agency.

Others warn that extreme weather is likely to remain a commonplace occurrence in the near future, calling for concerted efforts across industries in order to cope with it effectively.

“Around the globe, extreme weather with high and even super-high temperatures will likely occur frequently in the coming decade or for a longer period of time in the future. Judging by the situation this year, I don’t think people have got the full picture of how big an impact such weather can have on our production activities and our lives.” Xu Xiaofeng, former deputy director of the China Meteorological Administration, said in an interview with National Business Daily.

“Only by strengthening coordination among various industries and deepening our knowledge about climate change can we come up with effective coping measures.”

Yet, with Sichuan setting an example of resorting to coal-fired power as an immediate solution amid the current power crisis, it remains to be seen how China will strike a balance between ensuring normal use of power and reaching its carbon neutral goal by 2060.

Tags: ChinaClimate Change
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Okocha on scoring the best-ever Bundesliga goal

Next Post

Pope Francis: World already in ‘third World War’ being fought piecemeal

You MayAlso Like

Middle-East

Trump ‘considers US strike on Iran’ after chilling warning to its supreme leader Khamenei

June 18, 2025
Europe

Nicolas Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour over corruption conviction

June 16, 2025
Featured

Outsourcer in Chief: Is Trump Trading Away America’s Tech Future?

June 16, 2025
Column

Nigeria’s reforms have put the country on the global economic map

June 16, 2025
Middle-East

Trump ‘vetoed plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader’

June 16, 2025
Middle-East

Iran Threatens To Target American, British, French

June 15, 2025
Next Post

Pope Francis: World already in 'third World War' being fought piecemeal

Let them eat bugs: UK urges hunger-stricken African nations to farm insects

Discussion about this post

Chief (Ambr) Uchenna Okafor Celebrates Gov. Oborevwori at 62, Lauds Grassroots-Focused Governance

Trump ‘vetoed plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader’

Co-pilot error suspected in Air India crash

No Check-In, No Shame: Fact-Check Exposes Adams Oshiomhole’s Fabricated Lies Over Air Peace

Implement Electoral Reforms Now — Dr Okobah tells FG

British Woman Arrested for Smuggling Deadly Drug Made from Human Bones

  • British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

    1237 shares
    Share 495 Tweet 309
  • Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

    1063 shares
    Share 425 Tweet 266
  • Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

    966 shares
    Share 386 Tweet 242
  • ‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

    901 shares
    Share 360 Tweet 225
  • Crisis echoes, fears grow in Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu State

    735 shares
    Share 294 Tweet 184
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

British government apologizes to Peter Obi, as hired impostors, master manipulators on rampage abroad

April 13, 2023

Maids trafficked and sold to wealthy Saudis on black market

December 27, 2022
Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

Flight Attendant Sees Late Husband On Plane

September 22, 2023
‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

‘Céline Dion Dead 2023’: Singer killed By Internet Death Hoax

March 21, 2023
Chief Mrs Ebelechukwu, wife of Willie Obiano, former governor of Anambra state

NIGERIA: No, wife of Biafran warlord, Bianca Ojukwu lied – Ebele Obiano:

0

SOUTH AFRICA: TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE?

0
kelechi iheanacho

TOP SCORER: IHEANACHA

0
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

WHAT CAN’TBE TAKEN AWAY FROM JONATHAN

0

Ryanair Boeing 737 From UK Crashes Into Barrier On Runway At Greek Airport

June 19, 2025

Chief (Ambr) Uchenna Okafor Celebrates Gov. Oborevwori at 62, Lauds Grassroots-Focused Governance

June 19, 2025

Dr. Akpoveta Hails Gov. Oborevwori on 62nd Birthday, Commends Leadership in Health Sector

June 19, 2025

Rwanda quits ECCAS amid tensions with DRC

June 19, 2025

ABOUT US

Time Africa Magazine

TIME AFRICA MAGAZINE is an African Magazine with a culture of excellence; a magazine without peer. Nearly a third of its readers hold advanced degrees and include novelists, … READ MORE >>

SECTIONS

  • Aviation
  • Column
  • Crime
  • Europe
  • Featured
  • Gallery
  • Health
  • Interviews
  • Israel-Hamas
  • Lifestyle
  • Magazine
  • Middle-East
  • News
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • Russia-Ukraine
  • Science
  • Special Report
  • Sports
  • TV/Radio
  • UAE
  • UK
  • US
  • World News

Useful Links

  • AllAfrica
  • Channel Africa
  • El Khabar
  • The Guardian
  • Cairo Live
  • Le Republicain
  • Magazine: 9771144975608
  • Subscribe to TIME AFRICA biweekly news magazine

    Enjoy handpicked stories from around African continent,
    delivered anywhere in the world

    Subscribe

    • About Time Africa Magazine
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS

    © 2025 Time Africa Magazine - All Right Reserved. Time Africa is a trademark of Times Associates, registered in the U.S, & Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • WHO’SWHO AWARDS
    • Politics
    • Column
    • Interviews
    • Gallery
    • Lifestyle
    • Special Report
    • Sports
    • TV/Radio
    • Aviation
    • Health
    • Science
    • World News

    © 2025 Time Africa Magazine - All Right Reserved. Time Africa is a trademark of Times Associates, registered in the U.S, & Nigeria. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.