Sweltering heat pushes Shanghai power demand

Heat wave: People wear hats to protect themselves against the sun in Shanghai. The city’s power needs last Friday were more than the entire capacity of the Philippines. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: Punishing heat throughout southern China is stressing power networks and farmland as extreme weather continues to exact a deadly toll in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Electricity demand in Shanghai has hit a record as temperatures surged to 40.4°C last Sunday, close to the city’s all-time high of 40.9°C first recorded in 1873 and repeated two years ago.