The 2024 race has seen more twists than a Hollywood blockbuster
world2 days ago
China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the weather bureau warned on Thursday, as the world's second-biggest economy braces for another scorching summer.
In its annual climate "Blue Book", the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) warned that maximum temperatures across the country could rise by 1.7-2.8 degrees Celsius within 30 years, with eastern China and the northwestern region of Xinjiang set to suffer the most.
Last year, average national temperatures hit a new high, leading to record levels of glacial retreat and melting permafrost in the northwest, the Blue Book said.
China describes itself as one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries and it is coming under increasing pressure to adapt to rapidly changing weather patterns and sea levels that are rising faster than the global average.
"China is a region that is sensitive to global climate change, a region where the impact will be significant," said Yuan Jiashuang, vice-director of the CMA's National Climate Centre, at a briefing.
She warned that if emissions remained high, extreme heat events expected to occur once every 50 years in China could happen every other year by the end of the century, and rainfall could double and become more unpredictable.
The weather bureau said on Thursday that it expects temperatures in most areas across China to be relatively high over the next few months, signalling a second consecutive summer of extreme heat.
"The weather is going to be different from previous years and there is more extreme weather now," said Chen Yuhan, a resident of China's commercial hub Shanghai, which saw above-38 Celsius temperatures on Thursday.
"It surprises me every time I go out."
Torrential rain and floods are already battering the south and temperatures have broken records in several parts of north and central China, threatening crops and putting pressure on electricity grids.
Average temperatures from March to May hit their highest since records began in 1961, according to official data.
Record-breaking temperatures last month broiled key grain producing provinces in the northwest and east, forcing corn farmers to delay planting, while torrential rain in other regions flooded soybean and rice fields.
"It is necessary to guard against the risk of yield reduction of cotton, early rice and late rice caused by high temperature and heat damage," Jia Xiaolong, CMA's deputy director, said at the briefing.
Summer temperatures in regions, including Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu and Ningxia are expected to be one to two degrees Celsius above normal, CMA said.
The weather bureau also said that two typhoons could make landfall in mainland China in July. The typhoons are expected to move in a westward or northwestward direction, authorities said.
Last year, two powerful typhoons – Doksuri and Haikui - made landfall, causing massive rains that broke records in some areas, unleashed flooding and prompted widespread evacuations.
The 2024 race has seen more twists than a Hollywood blockbuster
world2 days ago
Time is running out, Antonio Guterres told the 15-member Security Council
world3 days ago
Ukraine now spends roughly half of its state budget — or about $40 billion — on defence
world3 days ago
The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel
world3 days ago
Teams of enumerators accompanied by soldiers and armed police went door to door in Yangon to fill in the 68-question survey
world3 days ago
The debate is likely the final one of the 2024 presidential campaign, potentially giving it some extra weight ahead of the November 5 election
world3 days ago
Taal is one of the world's smallest active volcanoes and some of its previous eruptions have impacted the capital and air travel
world3 days ago
The 207 to 121 vote was largely a repeat of the Conservatives' failed attempt last week to trigger snap elections
world3 days ago