Ice cubes are seen at a section of Songhuajiang River in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, on Feb.
1, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
Risks linked to extreme weather events will increase as the global climate gets warmer, an expert from the China Meteorological Administration said at a news conference on Monday.
"A recent analysis from the National Climate Center showed that this year, extreme weather events including heat waves, floods and drought will be more likely to occur, making it more challenging to combat weather-related disasters," said Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of the center.
He said that in southern parts of China, persistent high temperatures this summer will lead to energy supply shortages when demand peaks.
In coastal areas, people need to step up efforts to protect against typhoons. Northern residents should take precautions against secondary disasters caused by heavy rainfall and floods, he said.
Jia said that around the year 2035, severe heat wave events similar to those in 2013 may occur more frequently in the central and eastern regions of China, maybe biennially amid the higher emission scenario.
"The risks caused by heat will grow greater with stronger intensity," he said.
By the end of this century, extreme drought events are expected to occur once in 32 years rather than once in 50 years.
"In addition, precipitation tends to cause more disasters, which indicates that climate change is still posing a serious impact," he said.
Last year, the average temperature nationwide was 10.51 C, 0.62 C higher than the average between 1991 and 2020, according to the annual China Climate Bulletin released on Monday by the China Meteorological Administration.
Last summer, the strongest heat wave since 1961 occurred in central and eastern China and the nation as a whole experienced the second-highest average temperature in history, which caused heavy flooding and droughts, the bulletin said.
"Human activities that emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are the main cause of global warming," Jia said.
About 67% of global emissions are related to households and changing consumption patterns can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he said, adding that the Chinese government has been strengthening its capacity in disaster prevention and mitigation and emergency management to address climate change.
