The Mega City of Hangzhou - the headquarters of some of the world's largest companies China - has banned all unnecessary landscape lighting throughout the week to save electricity as high temperatures drive up demand and air conditioning, Reuters reported.
Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, will also suspend all light display programs across the city of 12.5 million people until August 9, according to a local government announcement on August 6.
Hangzhou is home to tech giants such as Alibaba and NetEase. The city has recorded temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius since August 2, as eastern and southern China struggle with a situation that local weather forecasters call a "prolonged battle" with record-breaking high temperatures.
In nearby Shanghai, the maximum load, or demand on the city's power grid, exceeded 40 million kilowatts for the first time on August 2, as hot weather increased electricity consumption in the city of nearly 25 million people.
According to the city's power grid operator, Shanghai leads the country in terms of power transmission density, with the central district of Lujiashu consuming twice as much electricity per square kilometer as Manhattan in New York, USA, or Ginza district in Tokyo, Japan.
When Hangzhou's electricity demand reached a new record, an official revealed that the city will implement a plan to ensure actual power supply to ensure the normal operation of functional lighting systems in public spaces, protect nighttime travel safety.
Chinese weather forecasters said that the 2024 temperature record is worse due to global warming despite the cooling effect of the La Nina phenomenon.
This year, China recorded the warmest spring since 1961, followed by the hottest May, then many weeks of drought in the country's central agricultural region.
Forecasters predict that high temperatures in Shanghai and provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui may last until August 11.
As a heatwave blankets Northeast Asia, fatalities have been reported in neighboring countries of China such as South Korea and Japan. China has yet to announce any heat-related fatalities.
