(ECNS) -- Climate change has led to concerns for the safety of strategically important projects such as the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the Three Gorges Dam and the South-to-North Water Diversion, according to Zheng Guoguang, head of the China Meteorological Administration.
In an interview with Study Times, a newspaper under the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Zheng said statistics have revealed the frequent occurrence of extreme weather in the past 60 years.
The first 10 years of this century were the warmest in nearly 100 years, with temperatures rising more quickly in the north than the south, according to Zheng.
China has been frequently hit by natural disasters in recent years, including a serious drought in southwestern parts of the country during 2010, a deadly rainstorm in the north in July 2012, and hail in Northwest Gansu province during May the same year.
Zheng said extreme weather has a lot to do with global warming.
Drought caused an accumulated economic loss of 91 billion yuan in 2014, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Another big concern is the risk projects face due to natural disasters.
Climate change affects the safety and stability of large-scale projects, the state grid and other energy initiatives while weakening their operational efficiency and economic benefits, it was added.
China has adopted a series of measures to cope with climate change. Besides, the intensity of carbon dioxide will be cut by at least 3.1 percent in 2015, Premier Li Keqiang announced in his work report.
Zheng also called for the promotion of awareness on environmental protection and urged eastern regions to take the lead in cutting emissions.
Environmental protection should be a compulsory measure in evaluating an official's work performance, he added.
