Tech companies are affected by the heatwave that China is experiencing now as the Sichuan province, where all of their factories are located, implemented a six-day lockdown for these factories to ease a power shortage to help the country's crisis, based on a report by The Verge.
(Photo : WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)
A woman wearing a face mask walks along a road in Beijing on July 24, 2019. - The Beijing weather department on July 23 issued a blue warning signal for a heat wave in the coming days.
Companies such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited or CATL, which supplies the batteries of Tesla, Foxconn Technology, BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd supplies Apple's parts, Toyota Motor Corp, and more, are affected until August 20 according to an 'urgent notice' issued on Sunday.
Also Read: Tesla Slashes Full Self Driving Package Prices by Half in China for Loyal Customers
The Aftermath
Because of the lockdown, the price of polysilicon increases as supply goes down and the product becomes in demand. Analysts also believe that this will result in a lithium price increase in the following days.
Despite the lockdown, some companies have said that this will not affect their production. Apple's suppliers (BOE and Foxconn) stated that although they would make adjustments, there will be no major impact on the operations.
China's Current Situation
As reported by CNN, China has been facing 104 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius in several cities for 25 consecutive days, the strongest record in six decades. Predictions say that this will be the 'new normal' temperature of the country due to global warming.
The demand for air conditioning in homes, offices, and almost all establishments also increased, which also puts more pressure on the power grid. Adding to this is the water levels of the country's rivers depletion.
Other than Sichuan, major provinces such as Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zheijang also urged businesses and factories to conserve power to decrease the heat.
Extreme heats for the past months also caused droughts for the agricultural areas in the country hence the sudden increase of fresh vegetables.
In a press briefing of the National Bureau of Statistics, Spokesperson Fu Linghui, said that the increase was much higher than the same period in the previous years. He added, "August and September are the key periods for the formation of autumn grain production. We must pay close attention to the impact of natural disaster, insects and disease on our country's food production,".
Province of Sichuan
As the province experiences "most severe", the local authorities implemented this lockdown to conserve power as the region is full of factories and consumes more hydropower, making them the most vulnerable in the situation.
Eighty-four million people are the estimated population of Sichuan, as it is considered one of the country's largest provinces. With its high mineral resource as the region has raw materials that can be used in solar photovoltaic and electronic companies, Sichuan is really an important area for the industry.
Related Article: Heatwaves Will Likely Be More Intense Because Of Reaction Of Plants To Higher Carbon Dioxide Levels: Study
This article is owned by TechTimes
Written by Inno Flores
