- China is caught in the grip of a devastating heatwave that could have a serious impact on its economy, according to a chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China.
- The heatwave "is a quite dire situation," Dan Wang told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Thursday, adding it probably could last for the next "two to three months easily."
- "It will affect those big energy intensive industries and it will have[a] knock-on effect throughout the economy and even to the global supply chain," she said.
A citizen wearing a breathing mask to escape heat rides on the road on May 23, 2019 in China. The electricity load in the Chinese province of Henan reached a new record on Monday, primarily driven by air-conditioning demand, as scorching heat waves spread across regions north of the Yangtze river.Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images
China is currently caught in the grip of a devastating heatwave that could have a serious impact on its economy, according to the chief economist of Hang Seng Bank China.
The heatwave "is a quite dire situation," Dan Wang told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Thursday, adding it probably could last for the next "two to three months easily."
China is facing record-breaking heatwaves and is battling a power outage in the Yangtze River area. Extreme temperatures have disrupted crop growth and threatened livestock.
"It will affect those big energy-intensive industries and it will have [a] knock-on effect throughout the economy and even to the global supply chain," she said.
"We already see a slowdown in production in the steel industry, in chemical industry, in fertilizer industry. Those are very important things when it comes to construction, to agriculture and also to manufacturing in general.," Wang added.
