Save With Green News Blog - Environmental and Health News for December 2008 - China Fears Global Warming and Warmer Winters Will Threaten Crop Yields

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It doesn't matter where you live. You've probably noticed that over the last few years, winter weather conditions have become a little wonky. For one, global warming has caused an overall increase in temperature, which has accounted for a warmer wintertime the world over.

Nobody can deny this fact, including the world power China, where the China Meteorological Administration recently published a report warning that China's 23rd consecutive "warm winter" could lead to more extreme droughts and severely diminished crop yields. The report cited that despite lower temperatures in certain regions where the Yangtze River flows, and the fact that last year's winter was the coldest since the mid-1980's, the season itself will still be classified as warm.

In other words, the season has been increasingly growing warmer amidst fluctuations from year to year, with the average temperature over the next three months certain to be higher than normal. In terms of global warming and climate change, China appears to be coming round to the reality.

An expert on the issue, Xiong Wei, recently told the China Daily news that the prolonged periods of warmer weather and drought are clear signs of climate change and will undoubtedly adversely affect agricultural crops. The threat is holistic. Not only is there the obvious strains of a drought to deal with (CMA predicts rainfall to be down in certain provinces by as much as 50%), warmer winters create an environment that allows crop destroying pests and plant diseases to thrive. And if a late freeze comes during springtime, this can potentially decimate an entire crop.

As mentioned, the report has come just as the UN Climate Summit is about to be held in Poland. Some of the topics planned for discussion here include extreme rainfall and spreading droughts in Latin America, which is feared will instigate increased migration, and consequently, social inequality. Once again, global warming is a holistic issue.