Page 131 - AJWEP-22-4

Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution. Vol. 22, No. 4 (2025), pp. 123-138.
doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025210166

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

The impact of extreme temperature shocks on enterprise
digital transformation: Evidence from Chinese listed

manufacturing companies

Huan Wang , Ying Ren , Dashuai Gao , Juping Wu *, and Ruiling Ma 3
1
1
2
1,2
1 Faculty of Geography, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
2 School of Economics and Management, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
3 Hongta Group Yuxi Cigarette Factory, Yuxi, Yunnan, China
*Corresponding author: Juping Wu (wujuping@ynnu.edu.cn)

Received: May 23, 2025; 1st revised: June 17, 2025; 2nd revised: June 22, 2025; Accepted: June 27, 2025;
Published online: July 17, 2025

Abstract: Global warming and extreme temperature shocks pose significant challenges to human societies. While
much research focuses on the economic hazards of extreme temperatures, exploring proactive countermeasures
holds greater research value. Utilizing daily meteorological data from prefecture-level cities in China and panel
data from listed manufacturing companies (2011 – 2022), we constructed a city-level extreme temperature index in
this study and employed a two-way fixed-effects model to empirically examine the impact of extreme temperatures
on the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises. The results revealed that extreme temperatures
significantly predict digital transformation, a finding robust to various tests. Mechanism analysis indicated that
extreme temperatures increase production costs and reduce efficiency, thereby accelerating digital transformation.
Heterogeneity analysis further demonstrated that the effect is more pronounced in private enterprises, high-tech
firms, and non-high-pollution industries, with a stronger impact observed in the eastern region of China. In addition,
corporate environmental, social, and governance disclosure, executive rejuvenation, and digital infrastructure
construction positively moderated this relationship, whereas the implementation of carbon trading policies partially
weakened the effect. This study not only underscores the micro-level impacts of climate change but also provides
valuable insights for enterprises seeking to mitigate the effects of extreme temperature events through digital
transformation.

Keywords: Climate change; Extreme temperatures; Digital transformation; Manufacturing companies

1. Introduction on Climate-related Financial Disclosures highlighted
that, in addition to global warming and natural
Continuous global warming and the frequent occurrence disasters, extreme weather events and other climatic
of extreme temperature events have caused irreversible factors exert chronic impacts on production, economic
catastrophic consequences for the Earth, substantially activities, and social sectors, particularly extreme high
threatening human survival and development. These and low temperatures. The Blue Book on Climate
1,2
3,4
phenomena have emerged as a shared developmental Change in China (2022) reveals that the global average
challenge for all nations worldwide. The Task Force temperature from 2002 to 2021 was 1.01°C higher than

Volume 22 Issue 4 (2025) 123 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025210166