China records significant upward trend in surface temperatures: blue paper

BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- There has been a notable upward trend in China's surface temperatures in recent decades amid global warming, according to an official blue paper released on Wednesday.

From 1951 to 2021, the country's annual average surface temperature rose 0.26 degrees Celsius every decade, according to the Blue Book on Climate Change in China (2022), issued by the China Meteorological Administration.

The last 20 years have been China's warmest period since the early 1900s, said Yuan Jiashuang, vice director of the National Climate Center.

In 2021, the country's average surface temperature registered its highest level since 1901 -- 0.97 degrees Celsius higher than usual.

And global warming persists, according to the blue book. The average global temperature in 2021 was 1.11 degrees Celsius higher than in the pre-industrial era, making 2021 one of the seven hottest years on record.