BEIJING, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Extreme heat baked megacities

on the eastern Chinese seaboard and sharply pushed up demand for

power to cool homes and offices, while scorching temperatures in

China's interior stoked fears of damage to rice crops.

The megacity of Hangzhou, home to 12.5 million people and

some of China's largest companies, banned all non-essential

outdoor lighting and light shows this week to conserve energy as

extreme heat tested power grids, local authorities said.

Known for its entrepreneurs and tech giants such as

Alibaba ( BABA ) and NetEase ( NTES ), Hangzhou has sweltered

under temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees

Fahrenheit) since Friday as eastern and southern China endure

stubbornly high temperatures.

In Shanghai, the maximum load, or demand, on its power grid

exceeded 40 million kilowatts for the first time on Aug. 2 as

heat waves boosted electricity consumption in the city of nearly

25 million people.

Shanghai leads the country in power load density, with the

city's core Lujiazui area consuming twice the power per square

kilometre compared to New York's Manhattan or Tokyo's Ginza

district, according to its grid operator.

As the maximum load on Hangzhou's own grids clocked new

highs, officials said they would implement a "practical" plan to

ensure the normal operation of functional lighting in public

spaces and safeguard the safety of night-time travel.

Chinese meteorologists say the record heat in 2024 has been

fuelled by global warming despite the cooling effects of the La

Nina weather phenomenon.

This year, China was hit by its warmest spring since 1961,

followed by the hottest May that was followed by weeks of

drought-like conditions in the central farmland region.

Maximum daily temperatures of 37 C to 39 C, and even

above 40 C, are expected to hit parts of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi,

Anhui and Zhejiang through Sunday.

The heat coincides with the harvest of the early-season

rice crop in those provinces, spurring calls for increased

irrigation to keep fields cool.

Fatalities have been reported in neighbouring South Korea

and Japan as powerful summer heat enveloped northeast Asia.

China has yet announce if there have been any deaths from the

extreme heat.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; editing by Miral Fahmy and Ros Russell)