Cape Town – While China battles with record-breaking temperatures that have caused forest fires and damaged crops, it has also hit power supplies, putting the focus on its energy needs.
Indo-Asian News Service reported that the average national temperature in August, 22.4ºC, was 1.2ºC higher than the seasonal norm. At the same time, its average rainfall fell 23% to 82 millimetres, the third lowest since records began in 1961.
Vice-director of China's national meteorological administration, Xiao Chan, told reporters that 267 weather stations across China recorded their highest temperatures in history last month, with the heatwave being its “most severe” since records began.
Furthermore, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that the long-lasting heatwaves and frequent wildfires also leads to worse air quality for hundreds of millions of people which could cost the nation an additional “climate penalty”.
“As the globe warms, wildfires and associated air pollution are expected to increase, even under a low-emission scenario,” said WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas.
“In addition to human health impacts, this will also affect ecosystems as air pollutants settle from the atmosphere to Earth's surface,” he said.
This had been seen in the heatwaves in Europe and China this year, when stable high atmospheric conditions, sunlight and low wind speeds were conducive to high pollution levels, Taalas added.
Meanwhile, extreme temperatures are set to increase China’s energy consumption even further in the coming years.
According to an Al Jazeera report, policymakers would be forced to transition away from fossil fuels but at the same time, it would present an opportunity for them to look into the deficiencies in China’s network of renewable energy, which includes wind and hydro.
“This is a harsh reminder that the low-carbon transition in our power supply has yet to be accomplished,” Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told Al Jazeera. “And it’s going to be more difficult to achieve that than expected.”
Ma Jun added that hydropower was an essential part of the country’s goal for carbon neutrality by 2060.
IOL