Heatwave kills livestock in China as scorching summer hits Asia

Sweltering temperatures across China are killing livestock and stretching power grids, an early heatwave that portends another summer of disruption for Asia’s industry and food supply.

BEIJING 

The mercury has been rising in nearly every corner of the world’s second-largest economy.

In southern regions, electricity demand hit peak levels in late May, a month earlier than in 2022, while Beijing in the north was expected to see temperatures hit a high of 37 deg C on Wednesday.

Shanghai broke a 150-year-old record for the highest-ever May temperature last week.

The scorching weather is proving particularly dangerous to animals. Hundreds of pigs have been dying in Jiangsu province and farmed fish perished as water temperatures soared in Guangxi, according to reports in local media. In Sichuan, the heat is killing rabbits, causing a surge in the price of spicy rabbit heads, a popular street food dish.