天然气短缺波及长沙

The capital city of one of China’s southern provinces has been forced to suspend heating at all government buildings as well as some hotels and shopping centres, according to local media, as Beijing diverts natural gas supplies to the country’s northern reaches in the face of a botched effort to cut down on coal use.

据中国当地媒体报道，中国南方一省的省会被强制暂停所有政府机关办公场所以及一些酒店和商场的供暖。目前，拙劣的限煤努力使得北京方面不得不将天然气供应调配到该国北方地区。

The Xiaoxiang Morning Post reported on Tuesday that Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province with a population of around 7m, had suspended provision of natural gas to offices at all levels of government from Monday to ensure sufficient supply was available for residential use.

据《潇湘晨报》周二报道，约有700万人口的湖南省会长沙全市各级机关事业单位办公场所停止采暖供气，保障民生用气。

The Post said supply for natural gas-powered taxis was also to be halted from noon on Tuesday and that “not a few hotels and shopping markets have also had their natural gas supplies suspended”. Other cities in Changhsa had also implemented similar measures, the paper said.

《潇湘晨报》称，从12月19日12点开始，长沙还将对天然气出租车采取停供措施，此外“不少酒店、商场也停止了供暖”。该报称，湖南其他地区也开始采取类似措施。

The suspensions in south China are the latest fallout from a government push to ameliorate shortages in north China, where the mishandling of an attempt to accelerate the region’s transition away from coal has left some residents without heat as temperatures fall below zero.

中国南方暂停供气是政府缓解华北天然气短缺的举措造成的最新影响。在华北，由于对让该地区加速从煤炭转向其他能源处置不当，一些居民在气温已降至零下的情况下却无法取暖。

Yet temperatures in China south have dropped this week as well, and the forecast for Changsha currently predicts temperatures of around zero degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning, according to weather site Dark Sky.

然而，本周中国南方也在降温。根据天气网站Dark Sky的天气预报，长沙的气温将在周三早上降至零度左右。

The upshot has been a jump in natural gas prices for the rest of the region as Beijing seeks to mitigate the damage. Last week the Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas rose to $10.50 per million British thermal units, the highest level since November 2014 and up almost 49 per cent from a low of $5.40 in June of this year.

随着北京方面想办法减轻限煤努力造成的不利影响，该地区其他地方的天然气价格呈现飙升。上周，亚洲液化天然气现货价格涨至每百万英热单位10.50美元，是自2014年11月以来的最高水平，较今年6月的低点5.40美元上涨近49%。