The year 2024 was the hottest on record in China, authorities announced, against a backdrop of extreme weather phenomena which are increasing around the world with climate change.
The Asian giant is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible according to scientists for global warming. However, it remains behind the United States and other countries in terms of emissions per capita.
“In 2024, the national average temperature was 10.92 degrees Celsius, 1.03 degrees warmer over a year. This is the warmest year since 1961, when comprehensive observation records began “, the China Meteorological Administration said on its website on Wednesday evening.
“The last four years are the hottest on record. The 10 hottest years since 1961 have all occurred in the 21st century,” she said.
China had already recorded the hottest July and August since 1961 in 2024. Its summer was marked by extreme weather phenomena and heat waves which hit large parts of its northern and western regions.
Climate change triggered extreme weather and record heat last year, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Monday.
– Floods –
Global warming, largely due to the use of fossil fuels, is not just a matter of rising temperatures, but has significant impacts due to all the extra heat built up in the atmosphere and seas.
Warmer air can hold more water vapor, and warmer oceans cause more evaporation, which can lead to heavy rains and more intense storms.
The repercussions can be significant, deadly and are increasingly costly, causing property damage and destroying crops.
In China, dozens of people were killed in floods last year.
-In May, intense rains caused the collapse of a highway in the south of the country. The tragedy left 48 dead.
Residents of the southern city of Guangzhou experienced an exceptionally long summer in 2024. According to state media, the average temperature there exceeded 22 degrees for 240 days, breaking the previous record of 234 days set in 1994 .
– Astronomical cost –
China, like the rest of the globe, is facing a significant increase in average temperatures, leading to increasingly frequent episodes of heat waves, drought and flooding.
But the country has promised that its CO2 emissions will peak in 2030 before reaching carbon neutrality in 2060. It is actively developing renewable energy to achieve this goal.
In 2024, deadly floods also devastated Spain and Kenya. Multiple storms hit the United States and the Philippines. Severe drought and wildfires also hit South America.
Extreme weather events claimed thousands of lives last year.
Economically, natural disasters have caused $310 billion in losses worldwide, according to an estimate from insurer group Swiss Re.
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