Days of record-breaking heat across large swathes of China pushed power demand to an all-time high in excess of 1.5 billion kilowatts on Wednesday (Jul 16), energy officials said, with temperatures forecast to feel like 50 degrees Celsius in some areas on Thursday.

An arc of sweltering heat stretching from the densely populated city of Chongqing in the southwest to Guangzhou on the coast has enveloped an area home to over 200 million people in recent days.

A subtropical high pressure system, which causes warm and dry weather, drove temperatures at eight weather stations in the northwest and southwest of China to record highs in the last two days, state media said on Thursday, citing national weather authorities.

“The power system is holding up so far,” said Chim Lee, a senior energy and climate change specialist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.