The Asian giant had already recorded the hottest July and August since 1961.
Amid extreme weather events, Chinese authorities announced that 2024 was the hottest year on record in the country. The world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases, the Asian giant is also responsible, according to scientists, for global warming. The country, however, remains behind the United States and other countries in terms of per capita emissions.
«In 2024, the national average temperature was 10.92 degrees Celsius, 1.03 degrees higher over a year. This is the warmest year since 1961 when comprehensive observational records began“, the China Meteorological Administration said on its website on Wednesday evening. Before detailing: “lhe last four years have been the warmest on record. The 10 hottest years since 1961 all occurred in the 21st century».
China had already recorded its hottest July and August since 1961 in 2024. Its summer was marked by extreme weather events and heat waves that 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.
Deadly repercussions
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 unusually 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 .
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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 predicted that its CO emissions2 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.
