(Ecns.cn)--Due to global warming, China's land surface temperatures and sea levels continue to rise, while glaciers have shrunk markedly since the mid-20th century, according to the National Assessment Report on Climate Change released on Tuesday.
The report, which mainly focused on global warming, China's climate change and the impacts brought by these changes, was jointly compiled by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Meteorological Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences since December 2008.
From 1951 to 2009, the average temperature of China's land surface increased 1.38 degrees centigrade, while coastal sea levels have risen 2.5 millimeters annually since the 1950s, according to the report. It is estimated that sea levels around China will rise by 80 to 130 millimeters in the coming two decades.
In addition, the report stated that glaciers of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are shrinking about 7.8 meters each year. Since the 1990s, snow accumulation on the plateau has decreased notably; from 1976 to 2006, the speed of shrinkage was five meters annually, but starting from 2004 the situation has worsened even further.
From 1951, extreme weather events like high temperatures, heavy rain and sand storms have happened more frequently, challenging bio-diversity and disease control for the country, which largely have had an adverse influence on human health, the report pointed out.
The report also stressed that people should pay attention to energy saving and emission reduction, and try to adopt low-carbon lifestyles. The government will also reinforce warning and monitoring systems of climate change to prevent severe damage, it said.
The report is the second of its kind in nearly five years.
