City Faces Power Shortage Crisis Amid 42-Degree Heatwave and Drought

Guangdong Province, China's Manufacturing Base, Faces Power Shortage Crisis

Recently, as daytime high temperatures in China have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius and a heatwave continues, the Guangdong Province, a manufacturing production base in China, is facing a power shortage crisis due to a concurrent drought.

According to Chinese media Daily Economic News on the 30th (local time), Guangdong Province is now in a situation where it must worry about power shortages.

Guangdong Province receives most of its electricity supply from Yunnan Province. However, this year, Yunnan has seen almost no rainfall, with last month's precipitation amounting to only 16.9 mm. This represents a 71% decrease compared to the same period last year. In April, power generation was 21.59 billion kWh, a 20% decrease compared to the same month last year.

The meteorological authorities expect the drought in Yunnan Province to continue until next month, so water source depletion and power shortages are unlikely to improve easily. Guangdong Province depends on Yunnan for about one-third of its annual electricity consumption.

Wudongde Hydroelectric Power Station built on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan.
[Image source=Yonhap News Agency·Xinhua News Agency capture]

Moreover, concerns are growing as daytime high temperatures across China continue to hover around 40 degrees Celsius, showing intense heat.

According to the China Central Meteorological Observatory, the daytime high temperature in Panzhihua City, Sichuan Province, soared to 42 degrees Celsius on that day, and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province also recorded 40 degrees. Additionally, the daytime high temperature in Shanghai, an eastern coastal city, reached 36.7 degrees the previous day, breaking the highest May temperature record in 100 years, as heatwaves rage in western and southern regions of China.

Sichuan Province is China's largest hydropower base. There are growing concerns that if the early heatwave disrupts hydropower plant operations, the eastern coastal economic hubs receiving power from here could face power shortages again, similar to last summer.

Meanwhile, Guangdong Province is in a position where it must increase the operation of thermal power plants to resolve the power shortage, raising concerns that the Chinese government's plan to peak carbon emissions by 2030 may face setbacks.