Home / Environment / News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Global Warming Threat to China's Food Supply
Adjust font size:

China’s food supplies will be greatly challenged in 30 years if global warming continues unabated, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

 

The country's population may hit 1.5 billion by 2030, which means China will have to produce an additional 100 million tons of food to feed the extra 200 million people, Zheng Guoguang, director general of the China Meteorological Administration, said today in Hohhot, capital city of Inner Mongolia.

 

In reality, he noted, about 130 million to 150 million tons more food will be needed due to supply reductions caused by bad weathers.

 

Annual output is expected to drop by five to 10 percent, Zheng said.

 

Global warming will bring more natural disasters to China, and these disasters may become large and do more damage over time, he said.

 

Sea levels in China's coastal areas are rising by an average of 2.5 millimeters every year, slightly faster than the global average.

 

In the past 100 years, China's climate has seen great changes, with most of the changes taking place in the last 50 years, Zheng said.

 

The average temperature in the first half of this year was 8.3 degree Celsius, 1.3 degrees higher than the average during the same period last year.

 

Last year was the warmest in China since 1951, with an average temperature of 10.2 degrees.

 

Temperatures in 2020 are expected to be 0.5 to 0.7 degrees higher than average temperatures 1980 and 1999.

 

By 2030, the increase is expected to be between 0.6 degrees and by 2050, they will be 1.2 degrees to two degrees higher, Zheng said.

 

Hotter weather may post great threat to the safety of drinking water.

 

When the global average temperature increases by 1.5 degrees to 2.5 degrees, about 20 percent to 30 percent of animals and plants around the world will die.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2007)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous

China Archives
Related >>
- Fuel Plan Won't Hit Food Supply
- More Funds for Green Vehicles
- Disaster Relief Plan Unveiled
- More Arable Land 'Needed' by 2030
Most Viewed >>
Air Quality 
Cities Major Pollutant Air Quality Level
Beijing particulate matter II
Shanghai particulate matter III1
Guangzhou sulfur dioxide II
Chongqing particulate matter III2
Xi'an particulate matter III1
Most Read
- White paper on energy
- Endangered monkeys grow in number
- Yangtze River's Three Gorges 2 mln years in the making
- The authorities sets sights on polluted soil
- China, US benefit from clean energy
NGO Events Calendar Tips
- Hand in hand to protect endangered animals and plants
- Changchun, Mini-marathon Aimed at Protecting Siberian Tiger
- Water Walk by Nature University
- Green Earth Documentary Salon
- Prof. Maria E. Fernandez to Give a Lecture on Climate Change
More
Archives
UN meets on climate change
The UN Climate Change Conference brought together representatives of over 180 countries and observers from various organizations.
Panda Facts
A record 28 panda cubs born via artificial insemination have survived in 2006.
South China Karst
Rich and unique karst landforms located in south China display exceptional natural beauty.
Saving the Tibetan Antelopes
The rare animals survive in the harsh natural environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
More
Laws & Regulations
- Forestry Law of the People's Republic of China
- Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China
- Fire Control Law of the People's Republic of China
- Law on Protecting Against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters
- Law of the People's Republic of China on Conserving Energy
More
Links:
State Environmental Protection Administration
Ministry of Water Resources
Ministry of Land and Resources
China Environmental Industry Network
Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base