China climate report: 2024 sees record heat and sea level rise

In 2024, China's annual average temperature and the country's coastal sea level reached record highs.

The "Blue Book on Climate Change in China 2025" was released on Friday, revealing alarming trends in climate change and extreme weather events.

According to the Blue Book, in 2024, China recorded its highest annual average temperature since meteorological observations began in 1901, with temperatures rising 1.0 degree Celsius above normal levels for the first time. This figure also surpassed the global average warming rate of 0.31 degrees Celsius per decade from 1961 to 2024.

The report also found that China's climate risk index reached its highest level since 1961 in 2024, with flooding and high-temperature risks particularly prominent.

"Extreme weather and climate events in China are more frequent and more intense, with the climate risk index showing an upward trend."

Xiao Chan, deputy director of the National Climate Center, explained the report's key findings at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

The book also found global ocean warming has significantly accelerated, with global sea surface temperatures and ocean heat content all reaching new highs. The report says the global average sea surface temperature in 2024 was 0.39 degrees Celsius above the normal value, the highest since 1870.

The warming trend is affecting China's ecosystems, with representative plants showing earlier spring phenology.

The Blue Book is an annual report that systematically reflects facts and trends in global and Chinese climate change from the perspectives of atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, and provides scientific and technological support for national and regional climate change scientific assessment, response strategies and adaptation actions. It has been published since 2011.

(Cover: China Meteorological Administration)