China’s hottest year on record in 2024, says meteorological agency Climate News

In the past four years, China has recorded its four warmest years since comparable temperature records began in 1961.

China has experienced this the hottest year The country’s meteorological service said the 2024 record reached a new high since comparable temperature records began more than 60 years ago.

The national average temperature for 2024 was 10.92 degrees Celsius (51.66 degrees Fahrenheit), 1.03 degrees higher than in 2023 and “the hottest year since full records began in 1961,” the China Meteorological Administration said Wednesday. he said on his news site at night.

“The four warmest years on record have been the last four years, and the ten warmest years since 1961 have all occurred in the 21st century,” the administration said.

Densely populated Shanghai, China’s financial hub, recorded its hottest year in 2024 since meteorological records began for the city in 1873, according to data from the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau. The average temperature of the city was 18.8C (65.8F).

China already recorded its hottest month on record in July last year the hottest August and the warmest autumn recorded.

Residents of the southern city of Guangzhou also experienced a record-breaking long summer, with state media reporting 240 days of average temperatures above 22C (71.6F), breaking the record of 234 days set in 1994.

Warming weather in China has been accompanied by stronger storms and more rain, and floods across the country last year killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes.

In May, a highway in southern China collapsed after days of rain, killing 48 people, while the Sichuan, Chongqing and Yangtze River middle reaches suffered from heat and drought in early autumn.

Greenpeace warned last year of “alarming new trends in extreme heat” in China, saying that days with extreme heat are coming earlier each year and that the size of such heat-affected areas in China is increasing.

“As China faces multiple climate impacts, so do people’s lives and livelihoods,” the campaign group said.

The United Nations said in its year-end message on Monday that 2024 will be the world’s hottest year on record.

Global warming, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, is not only about rising temperatures, but also about the effect of all the extra heat in the atmosphere and seas. Warmer air can hold more water vapor, and warmer oceans mean more evaporation, resulting in stronger downpours and thunderstorms.

Zurich-based insurance giant Swiss Re said climate-related natural disasters could cause an estimated $310 billion in economic losses by 2024.