4,000 chickens die from heat due to fan power cut in Central China's Suizhou. Photo: web

According to media reports, a chicken farm in Suizhou, Central China's Hubei Province, failed to issue an alarm in time due to incorrect connection for an alarm line linking a fan, causing more than 4,000 chickens to perish from heat. 

The owner of the farm found the chickens dead around 11 pm on Sunday. At present, the dead chickens have been buried. The accident has led to heavy losses to the chicken farm, expected to exceed 200,000 yuan ($27,794).

Open information showed that power to a fan was cut off, and then the temperature inside the chicken cage rapidly increased due to lack of air flow, which may cause the chicken cage to become a "steamer." For chicks to grow, they usually need to be kept within a temperature range of around 25 C. If the temperature is too high or too low, the chicks may face health problems and die. 

According to the National Climate Center, 2023 has witnessed the highest number of hot days in China since 1961. There are four regional high temperature phenomena in China, which are characterized by early occurrence, wide coverage and significantly extreme.

Experts noted that the El Ni?o phenomenon appeared earlier in 2023, and there is a 56 percent chance of it becoming a strong El Ni?o by winter. If a strong El Ni?o does occur, 2024 could likely become the hottest year on record.