. | . |
2006 Was China's Hottest Year In A Half-Century
Beijing (AFP) Feb 20, 2007 The year 2006 was China's hottest in half a century, with more than a third of climate observation stations on the Tibet plateau registering all-time high temperatures, state media reported Tuesday. China's average temperature was 9.9 degrees Celsius (49.8 Fahrenheit) last year, making it the hottest since 1951, Xinhua news agency said, quoting data supplied by the China Meteorological Bureau. The report offered few other details. But the bureau's top official, Qin Dahe, said earlier this month that a rash of extreme weather phenomena in 2006, such as droughts and severe typhoons, was likely due to higher temperatures caused by greenhouse gas-induced global warming. Thirteen out of 39 state climate observation stations on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, viewed as a barometer of the health of the world's climate, recorded record highs, Xinhua quoted bureau experts as saying. On Monday, the agency quoted bureau meteorologists as forecasting average temperatures could rise in China by a startling 3.9 to 6.0 degrees by 2100, higher than global estimates by the UN. They also predicted more extreme weather for China, including severe rainfall in heavily populated eastern China, drought in other areas and a rapid retreat of glaciers in Tibet and other areas of China. China is expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest producer of climate-changing gases by 2010. But Qin said earlier this month that China lacks the money and technology to shift significantly from its current reliance on heavily polluting coal-fired power stations.
Source: Agence France-Presse Email This Article
Related Links Ahmedabad, India (PTI) Feb 15, 2007 India will get sharper eyes to track ravaging cyclones and forecast monsoon when the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launches the indigenously built INSAT-3D and Oceansat-2 satellites next year. "The INSAT-3D satellite will be one of the three weather satellites that ISRO will launch in the next couple of years," said Abhijit Sarkar, a scientist at the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of ISRO here. |
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |