Cctv newsOn March 27th, the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held a press conference to introduce the work of preventing meteorological disasters, ensuring the resumption of work and preparing for spring ploughing. The heads of relevant departments of China Meteorological Bureau and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs answered questions from the media.
Reporter: This year’s World Meteorological Day has just passed. I noticed that this year’s theme is "Climate and Water". What impact will climate change have on China’s water resources? Will it lead to an increase in the frequency of droughts and floods across the country?
Zhou Bing, Chief Expert of Climate Service of National Climate Center of China Meteorological Bureau.Every year on March 23rd, World Meteorological Day, the World Meteorological Organization and the international meteorological community will hold activities to publicize popular science around a related theme. From 1961 to 2019, seven of the 59 World Meteorological Days have been related to water. This year’s theme is "Climate and Water", which shows the importance of water in meteorological work.
Climate change affects the global water cycle and the distribution of water resources. According to the climate statement of the World Meteorological Organization, the global average temperature in 2019 was 1.1℃ higher than the average from 1850 to 1900, which was the second hottest year on record after 2016, consistent with the global warming trend. Since 1951, the annual average surface temperature in China has increased by 0.24℃ every ten years. Climate change is changing the distribution of water resources, the characteristics of precipitation and the change of precipitation intensity, which will change the regional flood situation, and even make the dry places more and more dry and the wet places more and more wet. In recent 50 years, the average number of rainy days in China has generally shown a downward trend, mainly because the number of light rain days has decreased significantly, by 13%, while the number of heavy rain days has increased by 10% instead of decreasing. The decrease of light rain days means that the risk of drought increases, while the increase of heavy rain days means that the frequency of short-term heavy precipitation events increases and the risks such as urban waterlogging increase.
China water cycle has three characteristics. First, in the 21st century, the precipitation in China is increasing, and the water cycle is intensifying. Second, there is a situation of waterlogging in the south and drought in the north, and the shortage of water resources in the north is intensified. Third, most areas in the west are getting warmer and wetter, showing the characteristics of warming and wetting. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the frequent occurrence of extreme weather and climate events and the changing characteristics of drought and flood distribution in China under the background of global warming, and effectively improve our ability to cope with climate change.