Over the next three decades, temperatures in China will rise sharply due to climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. In turn, this will lead to catastrophic weather events, including droughts. This conclusion was reached by scientists from the University of Reading in the UK and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This is stated in an article published in the journal Climate Dynamics, and the study is summarized in a press release on Phys.org.
According to the forecast, by 2050 the maximum and minimum temperatures will rise by about two degrees Celsius. The hottest daytime temperatures will increase by 2.4 degrees Celsius, and the hottest night temperatures by 1.8 degrees, which will be felt throughout China. This warming will be more dramatic than what has been observed in recent decades, and will exceed five times the interannual temperature fluctuations observed now. Minimum temperatures will increase 2.1 degrees during the day and 2.3 degrees at night over China, more than double the interannual variability.
Southeast China will experience the largest temperature rise, with maximum temperatures expected to rise 3.2 degrees Celsius during the day and 2.1 degrees at night. The number of days when the temperature rises above 25 degrees will increase by eight, and the number of nights with temperatures above 20 degrees – by 11.
At the same time, a decrease in the number of emissions will lead to short-term warming due to a decrease in the concentration of particles in the atmosphere that reflect solar radiation. However, the longer-term trend will be a decrease in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which will ultimately lead to a cooling of the climate.