Iconic Shanghai sights go dark as drought hits power supply

An iconic skyline in the Chinese city of Shanghai – called The Bund – will not be lit for two nights to save power, authorities say.

The particular waterfront area – known for its mixture of historical and futuristic buildings – is a superb tourist destination.

Somewhere else in China, major manufacturers in the Sichuan province told the BBC they had been hit by strength cuts.

Large areas of the world’s second largest economy encounter a severe drought amid a record-breaking heatwave.

In a notice on Sunday, the particular Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau said structures in the Bund, which are located along the city’s largest river, will never be lit on Mon and Tuesday.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, ” it said within the notice.

China issued its first national drought alert of the year last week, after places including Shanghai within the Yangtze Delta region and Sichuan within southwest China experienced weeks of extreme heat.

The ‘yellow alert’ is the third most severe level on the official scale.

Officials in the Sichuan state, where temperatures have exceeded 40C (104F), said in a recent statement that rising temperatures plus low rainfall, together with increased demand pertaining to air conditioning, had caused the power shortages.

The particular province has prolonged its power saving measures by 5 days to Thurs, according to media reports. These limit the power supply to some industrial businesses.

German carmaker Volkswagen told the BBC that the factory in Chengdu – which is the main city of Sichuan – remains shut.

The Volkswagen spokesperson mentioned the firm expects “a slight delay” in deliveries that it could recover “in the near future”.

“We are checking the situation and are in close exchange with our suppliers, ” the particular spokesperson added.

Apple company supplier Foxconn, which usually also shut the plant in Sichuan, said the effect on its production was currently “not significant”.

Meanwhile, Japanese auto giant Toyota told the BBC it had been gradually resuming manufacturing in Sichuan “utilising in-house power generation”.

The particular impact of strength cuts are likely to be short-lived, Chenyu Wu, an associate analyst for Tiongkok and North Asia at consultancy Control Risks, told the BBC.

“Local efforts to save power and boost generation will probably help mitigate the power shortage situation within the coming weeks, particularly if the much-hoped intended for end to the sizzling heat wave arrives, ” he stated.

Authorities have moved to generate rainfall in parts of main and southwest China amid a heatwave, which is the greatest on record for that country.

Provinces round the drought-stricken Yangtze Lake – Asia’s longest waterway – have got turned to cloud seeding operations to battle the lack of rain, while Hubei and a variety of other provinces have launched rockets carrying chemicals into the atmosphere, according to local mass media.

But a lack of cloud cover has stalled efforts in some locations seeking to do the exact same.