The heat wave in China is causing extreme temperatures above 40 °C To deal with it, residents of the southwestern provinces are taking some creative steps.
Those who live in Chongqing and neighboring Sichuan are going to underground bunkers and cave restaurants in an attempt to seek refuge from the heat.
Some experts say that the intensity of the heat wave that the country is currently experiencing could turn it into one of the worst recorded in world history.
This has also exacerbated a severe drought in China .
One of the measures that some train stations have taken in these provinces is to dim their lights, which are generally very bright, in order to save electricity.
In social networks there are photos and videos that show quite disturbing scenes of people sitting in dark train cars in Chongqing or walking through the streets also without light.
Due to record heatwave and low water level of Yangtze River, much of Sichuan and Chongqing in SW China which depend on hydropower has cut electricity.
What Chongqing subway looks like now pic.twitter.com/2gkxGq3ECX
— Carl Zha (@CarlZha) August 23, 2022
In order to conserve energy, the Sichaun authorities have requested that the levels of air conditioning at not less than 26 °C , while in Chongqing they have ordered the e industrial companies to restrict production until at least Thursday.
Instead, companies have used large blocks of ice to help cool their offices, according to local media reports.
Trying to stay cool. pic.twitter.com/6y3aod4AAw
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) August 23,
And, outside the offices, there have been many who, to eat, have gone underground in an attempt to escape even more from the heat.
The “Cueva HotPot” restaurants, named for the type of food served, in a kind of hot cauldrons, and where they are located, are usually very popular in the summer months, since the temperature is cooler underground. Now they have become something essential.
The temperature in these cave-restaurants is about 16 °C. A luxury compared to the scorching 40 °C outside reported by the state news outlet China Daily last Saturday.
In the scorching hot #summer, #Chongqing people will take an adventure having #hotpot 30-m #underground #cave restaurant transformed from an old bomb shelter.
Nice and cool, no need for air conditioning.
A warm reminder: No cellphone signals down there! pic.twitter.com/9wfXHR3BXk— China Up Close (@China_Up_Close) July 14,
There are those who seek refuge in underground tunnels, where they put mats or hang hammocks on the beams.
Affectations
Agricultural producers have been especially affected during the heat wave and the resulting drought.
In a video that has gone viral, a chicken farmer is seen in Sichuan crying because all their animals had died overnight due to power outages on a very hot day.
Parts of Sichaun, the country’s largest hydropower producer, got a little respite on Thursday when heavy rains intensified overnight. Although, the counterpart is that some 30.000 people had to be evacuated due to the storm, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The weather agency said hot weather was expected to continue for at least the next three days in that area, as well as in the provinces surrounding the commercial hub of Shanghai.
But it is not only Sichuan that has been affected: with less rain going towards the Yangtze River (China), water levels have dropped particularly in Three Gorges Dam and consequently the energy is has reduced in several cities in China, including the financial center of Shanghai.
Stephen McDonell, BBC News correspondent in China, says that the Three Gorges Dam has been a work of controversy since its inception.
For some, it is an engineering marvel that generates large amounts of electricity and controls floods of the Yangtze River. But its detractors argue that it has submerged ancient towns and has led to the relocation of millions of people and the elimination of many species of fish And animals.
But at this time, says McDonell, the drought has meant that there is not enough water to have optimal levels of energy, necessary for the economy of the area. And, he points out, China may consider other energy options for the region.
The water shortage is so serious that the historical relics Buddhists that have been submerged for years have reappeared, in recent weeks.
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