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The mercury has soared beyond 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Sichuan province this week, fuelling massive demand for air conditioning and drying up reservoirs in a region reliant on dams for most of its electricity.
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Factories including a joint venture with Japanese car giant Toyota in provincial capital Chengdu have been forced to halt work, while millions in another city Dazhou grappled with rolling power cuts.
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Faced with a "most severe situation", the city—home to over 20 million people—ordered landscape illumination and outdoor advertising lights to be switched off in notices issued Tuesday, the statement said.
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Sichuan's power woes could have ripple effects on the wider Chinese economy—the province is a key supplier of energy generated by hydropower to eastern industrial powerhouses including Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
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