How climate change will affect China

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

Beijing, Nov.17 (People's Daily Online) --China's Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Meteorological Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly issued the Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change in Beijing on Nov. 15.

"This important report answers certain hot and tough issues on climate change and is a manifesto for China's action to address climate change," said Jiang Zhaoli, a director of domestic policy at the National Development and Reform Commission's Climate Change Department.

World really getting warmer

According to the report, temperature changes in China are consistent with the global centennial-scale warming trend. The average land surface temperature in China increased nearly 1.4 degrees Celsius from 1951 to 2009, an annual average increase of over 0.2 degrees Celsius.

It is projected that by the end of this century, China's annual average temperature will be 2.5 degrees Celsius, 3.8 degrees Celsius, or 4.6 degrees Celsius higher than that of the 1980-1999 period based on scenarios involving low emissions, moderate emissions and high emissions, respectively, which means China’s temperatures are expected to rise faster than the world average.

"Due to the adverse effects of global warming, China's temperatures will rise faster than the world average, meaning that China will face more severe climate change issues than other countries," said Luo Yong, a researcher with the National Climate Center.