BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Lingering heatwaves sweeping across China have prompted public utility and transportation sectors to take precautionary measures to ensure people's safety, while also sparking a buying spree for sunproof jackets.
Sweltering weathers are gripping many regions across China, with the nation's Central Meteorological Observatory issuing a spate of alerts for high temperatures.
In Baoding City, north China's Hebei Province, maintenance workers are maneuvering a drone to inspect critical electricity transmission lines to ensure the stable operations of the power grids.
As unabated high temperatures have driven up power load, some power transmission equipment could be over-heated up to 50 degrees Celsius just in the morning, according to a staff member of the State Grid Baoding Electric Power Supply Company.
Apart from drones, other innovative means such as infrared temperature measurement and ultrasonic detectors have also been deployed to locate and stem malfunctions and hidden risks along the power lines.
As the meteorological observatory in Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province issued a yellow alert for high temperatures on Tuesday, local weather departments forecasted a higher-than-usual average temperature across the province this summer.
The weather conditions are likely to pose greater challenges to power supply during this summer, said Dang Xiaofeng, deputy Party head of the State Grid Shaanxi Electric Power Company Limited.
This summer, the maximum daily peak load of Shaanxi Province's power grid is estimated to reach 44 million kw, an increase of 10.7 percent compared to the summer historical record. The use of air conditioners alone, is calculated to add up to a load of over 16 million kw, representing over 36 percent of the total.
Correspondingly, Shaanxi Province has taken measures to coordinate multiple power sources while keeping emergency power sources ready, particularly through boosting the share of new energy sources in power consumption, and bringing power storage stations' roles for peak-load shifting into full play.
To ensure safe operations of the bullet trains and a cool ride for passengers, personnel at the Xi'an section of China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd. are inspecting and cleaning the air conditioning apparatus mounted on the trains.
Lingering heatwaves also affected access to drinking water for many living in rural areas across Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, among other provincial regions in north China. By Sunday evening, 25,854 people had been impacted.
To quench their thirst, the Ministry of Water Resources, in coordination with localities, has adopted various troubleshooting measures including delivering water to affected areas, diverting water from surrounding areas, supplying water during designated time slots and extending water pipelines.
In another development, increasingly health-conscious Chinese consumers are also bracing for the scorching heat, as heatwaves has triggered a surge in demand for sun-protective clothing.
More and more pedestrians, bike-riders on Chinese roads are braving the fiery weather with their bodies covered from head to toe, with sunproof jackets, masks, sunglasses, or even sunproof gowns.
Xiaoyehezi, a garment brand focused on functional clothing established in 2021 in Shenzhen, reported a more-than-20-percent year-on-year surge in sales volume of its sun-protective clothing in May.
The company's brisk trade encapsulated the rapid expansion of a burgeoning industry. According to the research firm iResearch, the market size of sun-protective clothing and accessories in China reached 74.2 billion yuan (about 10.43 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, and is expected to reach 95.8 billion yuan in 2026. ■
