Extreme heat in China played havoc on Wednesday despite lower temperatures in some regions, with authorities across the Yangtze river basin scrambling to limit the damage from climate change on power, crops and livestock.

China’s heatwave, stretching past 70 days, is its longest and most widespread on record, with around 30 per cent of the 600 weather stations along the Yangtze recording their highest temperatures ever by last Friday. The southwestern region of Chongqing has been hit especially hard, with one resident, Zhang Ronghai, saying that both his water and his power had been cut after a four-day mountain fire in the district of Jiangjin. “People need to go to a power centre over 10 km (6 miles) away to charge their phones,” Zhang said.