High temperatures lingering over north China in the past several
days have inconvenienced people's daily life and led to a hike of
power and water consumption.
Dubbed as a "heater", Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong
Province, reported a record high temperature of 40.9 degrees
Celsius on Thursday after high temperatures of over 36 degrees
hovered over the city over the past seven days.
According to the provincial meteorological station on Friday, high
temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius were also reported in the
northwest and central parts of Shandong Province on Thursday, while
the temperatures in other parts of the province also reached 37
degrees and above.
To reduce the threat of the high temperatures, education
authorities of Jinan city have ordered local primary schools to
suspend classes and only morning classes remained normal in junior
middle schools.
Local government also urged concerned enterprises to stop outdoor
operations when the temperature reaches 37 degrees Celsius and
higher.
High temperatures hit most parts of north China, including Hebei
Province, Shanxi Province, Henan Province, the Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Shandong
Province in the past week.
Sustained heat waves rolled across Beijing since early this week,
leading to a slight power shortage, according to Beijing Power
Company.
The municipality used 9.89 million kilowatts of electricity by 4:55
PM Thursday, a record high of daily electric power consumption in
the capital.
It is forecast that Beijing's daily electric power consumption will
hit 10.7 million kilowatts this summer, 1.264 million kilowatts
more than last year, a result of high temperatures. The North China
Power Grid Company forecast that Beijing will be short 1 million
kilowatts this summer.
Beijing power authorities have warned local residents to take
measures to save electricity and local enterprises are required to
avoid power use during peak hours.
High temperature also led to a hike of water consumption in the
city. Beijing used 2.409 million cubic meters of water on Thursday,
the second largest daily water consumption in the city's
history.
High temperatures, less rainfall and an ensuing drought have hit
north China's Shanxi Province since the beginning in June.
According to the provincial headquarters for flood control and
drought relief, sustained droughts have affected 1.47 million
hectares of farmland, 34.66 million hectares of which were
seriously affected, in the province. The province has 1.4 million
people and 261,300 domestic animals which face a temporary shortage
of drinking water.
The drought even affected the autumn crops, according to a source
with the provincial agriculture department.
High temperatures and drought in north China are expected to be
relieved from Saturday on as rainfalls are forecast for most parts
of the scorched north region, according to the Chinese
Meteorological Administration.
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2005)