China: More Bad Weather Next Year

China Daily December 29, 2006

China will encounter more bad weather next year, Qin Dahe, director of the Climate Meteorological Administration (CMA) said in his annual report yesterday. He urged all levels of government to improve weather monitoring.

China will witness more severe weather conditions in 2007, the country’s top meteorological official forecast in his annual report yesterday.

Qin Dahe, director of the Climate Meteorological Administration (CMA), said that next year the likelihood of drought in north China and floods in the south of the country were high.

He urged all levels of government to strengthen the monitoring of rainstorms, droughts, typhoons, gales, hailstorms, temperature variations and acid rain.

"Based on our observations of the global systems on air, oceans, glaciers and vegetation we drew our conclusions," said Dong Wenjie, director of the National Climate Centre with the CMA.

This year was the warmest in China's history since 1951 with the annual average temperature 1 degree Celsius higher than previous years, Qin said.

The CMA statistics show that during the year disasters caused by bad weather led to over 2,700 deaths and economic losses of 212 billion yuan (US$26.5 billion).

A total of seven typhoons and severe tropical storms hit the country this year resulting in over 1,200 deaths, 300 missing and direct economic losses of about 70 billion yuan (US$8.8 billion).

In spring north China was hit by 18 dust and sandstorms. This is the most on record since 2000 while Sichuan Province in southwest China was suffered the first drought since 1951.

Dong said acid rain in north China was a serious problem this year and required more attention.

"Before, the country's acid rain was concentrated in southwest China like Guizhou Province," Dong said. "But due to more emissions of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide north China has become the new recipient of acid rain."