China faces severe drought amid a record-breaking heatwave (2022)

Large parts of the world’s second largest economy face a severe drought amid a record-breaking heatwave. Major manufacturers in the Sichuan province told the BBC they had been hit by power cuts. Meanwhile, an iconic skyline in the Chinese city of Shanghai – called The Bund – is not being lit for two nights to save power, officials say. China issued its first national drought alert of the year last week, after areas including Shanghai in the Yangtze Delta region and Sichuan in southwest China experienced weeks of extreme heat.