Climate Change Impacts in China

       The major impacts in China are mainly physical systems with only a bit of human and managed systems. There is a medium to high confidence in attribution to climate change along the physical systems of rivers, lakes, floods, and/or droughts. There is a low confidence in attribution to climate change in the human and managed systems in the food production sector. The key risks in Asia which is where China is located are flooding, heat related mortality, and drought-related water. There has been an "increase in risks of heat mortality which bring adaptation issues such as heat health warning systems, improvements of the built environments and developments of sustainable cities" (IPCC 2014 Report’s). There has also been  drought issues and food scarcity problems which bring the "adaptive water resource management and water infrastructure and reservoir development, along with reusing the water" (IPCC 2014 Report’s).
       There is a rainband known as the Meiyu-Changma-Baiu that happens each year during the summer months in China. A rainband is a " dark band in the solar spectrum caused by water vapor in the atmosphere" (Dictionary). There is a lot of precipitation during the summer months of East Asia. The weather in China does not get warm until the winter months which is something that is usually not the case in the United States. There is a projected "increase of extreme precipitation" over China
 during the warmer climates (IPCC).
       Like mentioned before, China has been having more warm days than cold days which has lead to extreme precipitation trends. China has a huge population and everyone needs water so water preservation is soon becoming a problem. There is also the slight worry that someday the food production will become really low and there would be regions in Asia that will have food scarcity problems. Since China is becoming more populated and more structures are being built over the vegetation, the growth rates of plants and species will begin declining. As the Arctic ice has been melting, it has been the cause for rising sea levels which affects the coastal regions of every country. Places like China need to begin thinking of creating sustainability in the city communities. East Asia is having more heat waves which can affect the health of the elderly or young children and animals. There are some diseases that can spread faster in heavy rain and warm temperatures like malaria. When the rain becomes heavier it causes flooding which could destroy the population in the areas that have high poverty. There is a need increasing for developing adaptation measures in the least developed parts of East Asia.
       I decided to look more into the human health, security, livelihoods, and poverty aspect of the climate change effect. I chose this subject because I am worried about how it affects people and affect the livelihoods. There is a higher rural poverty than there is of urban poverty and they have a heavy dependence on natural resources. Nobody likes being sick and in China there is an increase of epidemics reported right after floods and storms. Mosquito's are prone to being highly active right after a rainy day and that is one of the ways that disease is spread through. The flood waters are also known to become contaminated and have many toxins. It is sad to lose a loved one and it is more sad that a loved one has died due to climate change. There are many dust storms in East Asia where China can be located and it increases the risk of worsening asthmatic conditions. "Pathogens and parasites multiply faster at higher temperatures" which causes diarrheal diseases (IPCC). People may not know how intense climate changes actually affect the human health.

This picture is from China Profile.com and it shows the arable land as percentage of total cultivated land area.

This image is from epa.gov and it is the depitcion of the amount of  Global emissions from each country.

Sever Weather in China

       Tornadoes can form in several ways; they can form on their own, or in conjunction with mid-latitude cyclones or in conjunction with hurricanes. A vertical sheer is the first step in a tornado development. The first object that forms is the rotating body of air at the ground. Wind speeds are higher as you increase in altitude. Vertical wind profiles sometimes cause updrafts to rotate which mesocyclones usually spawn Tornadoes. Horizontal rotating air is lifted off the ground by the updraft of the thunderstorm. Once the horizontal rotating air mass is lifted nearly vertically, it will be considered a mesocyclone. Tornadoes in the United States usually travel southwest to northeast.This is the dominant direction in the US because of prevailing winds. Tornadoes can happen in China, mostly on the east coast of China. China doesn't have as many tornado averages as does the US. China has about twenty to thirty tornadoes each year (Open Hazards). The average number of tornadoes observed in the US each year are 1253 tornadoes (NOAA).

      

This image is from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-information/extreme-events/us-tornado-climatology.

       China doesn't really get many tornadoes, but the tornadoes that do happen occur in the east coast of China. Based on the annual US Annual Tornado count graph, tornado occurrences appear to have increased over time. But, it might not be fully true either. Tornadoes might have increased in the last 30 years possibly because of global warming. Since, the ocean waters are becoming more warm, it creates more strength in creating stronger weather conditions like hurricanes and thunderstorms. Also, tornadoes might have increased in the last 30 years because there have been many technological advances in the Meteorology department that can detect tornadoes in better ways. 

This image is from http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~hakim/101/hurricanes/. 

       The three main weather requirements that are needed to form a hurricane are warm ocean waters, unstable conditions, and moisture in the mid-troposphere. Hurricanes gain their power from the warm water because the warmer the water, the more energy can be extracted during condensation, and the stronger the storm can grow. Unstable air is typically very warm and moist air, so when lifted it will continue to rise on its own. The more unstable the air is, the more rapidly it will rise. Rapidly rising air helps to creates stronger thunderstorms which contribute to the overall hurricane. Also, hurricanes require a moist mid-troposphere to help keep their clouds and thunderstorms in tact. The typhoon season lasts from the early summer to early autumn around the China area and that means there are warm waters and unstable conditions during those seasons. In the Atlantic ocean, they are called hurricanes; in the Indian Ocean they are called cyclones and off the coast of China they are called typhoons. Hurricanes in the United States usually go through the east coast or middle east region of the country. They all travel from the gulf coast of Mexico or caribbean sea region. This is the dominant path of hurricanes because the gulf coast of Mexico and caribbean sea always has warm waters. Hurricanes do happen in China but they are known as Typhoons. There are an average of 7 typhoons each year (China). There is an average of 6 hurricanes that hit the US each year as calculated from the Hurricane Research Division in the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological laboratory (AOML).

               

Daily Weather in Beijing, China

       My country's capital city is Beijing, China. My 3‐day forecast will cover the following days: 04/02, 04/03, 04/04. The forecasted high for my first day is 62°F and the forecasted low is 42°F and the precipitation percent is 0. The forecasted high for my second day is 63°F and the forecasted low is 47°F and the precipitation percent is 0. The forecasted high for my third day is 63°F and the forecasted low is 38°F and the precipitation percent is 0.The average pressure over the three day period was 29.95 in.The pressure stayed the same over the three day period.The average wind speed over the three day period was 11.67 mph. The wind speed increased over the three day period.

       There seems to be a couple of clouds in the area of Beijing, China. The clouds are relatively close to each other. There are about 7 cloud symbols mostly showing partly cloudy skies. The clouds are mainly cold clouds. There seems to be precipitation throughout the north-west of Beijing. along with some medium precipitation in the middle of the precipitation cells. There is a bit of purple on the map which is indicating that there is heavy precipitation. The heavy precipitation is coming from the North West corner of China. The precipitation seems to be coming from the Mongolia area which is the country right above of China. Beijing has a little bit of green around the city. Beijing is mainly a city and that is why it is mainly grey. There are no textured patterns in Beijing. There is a river nearby and it connects to many little ponds that are in the city of Beijing.

This image is from Intellicast. 

       The isobar pressures on this map range from 1008 mb, 1012 mb, 1028 mb, 1024 mb, 1000 mb, 1004 mb, and 1020 mb. There are a couple of H pressures towards the North and West of the map. There are some H pressures on the ocean towards the East of China. There are some L pressures as well in China. The L pressures and mainly in the East and South of China. There are a few L pressures along the coast and in the ocean as well. There are some cold fronts along with warm fronts. There are also some occluded fronts. The cold fronts are on the ocean and they are also on the North of China. There are some warm fronts towards the South of China and some by the ocean, in other words East of China. 

These images are from Intellicast.

       The isobar pressures range from 996 mb, 1000 mb, 1012 mb, 1016 mb, and 1020 mb. There is only one H pressure in this map and it is on the North-Eastern corner of China. There are three L pressures that are on China and one L pressure in Japan.There is a combination of warm and cold fronts in this map. There is a a warm front and a cold front on the East of China.

Global and Local Winds in China

     China's latitude max is an estimate of 53.45 N and a min of 18.33 N. China's longitude max is about 122.6 E and min of 73.99 E (Google Maps). China is located in the Eastern and Northern Hemisphere  of planet Earth (World Atlas). The country of China resides in the Ferrell Cell from the "atmospheric cell". China resides in the Westerlies wind belt. The net surface flow is toward the poles and Coriolis bends them to the west. The Westerlies blow from West to East. China is located in a High pressure belt. China is not located in the horse latitude because the horse latitude is in the 25-30 N (S) and China is located in the 30-60 N (S). China is also not located in the Polar front because China is not way up north in the 60-90 N (S) region. China is also not in the Doldrum front because China is not close to the equator.

This picture is from http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-maps/world-weather-map.html

     China's climate is sporadic. Since China has a vast mountain region along with plains, valleys, desert, and coastal areas, the weather tends to be different in the same instant. One area can be rainy while another area is dry and sunny. The high mountain regions tend to be really cold at times because of the winds that pass through. Since China's latitude begins at the border of 30 N, it contains the region of a desert due to the subsidizing air associated with the Hadley Cell. The wind in this region is moving from West to East along with some trade winds in the South of China that are going East to West.

     China has big mountain ranges that occupy two-thirds of the country. There are about 26 mountains in Tibet, China. Mount. Everest, Mount. Cho Oyu, Mount Shisha Pangma are 3 of the tallest mountains in the region (Summit Post). Mountain breezes, valley breezes, Chinooks, Katabatic winds, and Monsoons are all types of breezes or winds that are associated with mountains.
China has the possibility of experiencing each and every wind listed above because of the vast majority of mountain ranges making up most of the country. China has the famous Jiuzahaigou Valley which covers 230 square miles (Travel China Guide). China has a variety of land regions which allows breezes and wind systems like monsoons possible. Monsoons are actually significant in the fertilization of the soil because it has been able to produce a lot of food for the people (Owl and Mouse). China has a coastline of 14,500 km in length (World by Map). Sea breezes and monsoons are two breezes associated with coastlines. China has the possibility of experiencing these breezes because it has a big coastline in which the breezes can move in through and even though some of the monsoons pass through the Indian ocean and then through the Himalayan mountains, it still reaches China.

Temperature Controls in the city of Beijing in China

      The capital city of China is Beijing. The latitude of the city of Beijing is 39.9139° N and the longitude is 116.3917°E. The warmest month in Beijing is July with an average monthly temperature of 81°F. The coldest month in Beijing is January with an average of 25°F. Based on the information above, the annual range of temperature for my city is 87.8°F.
      The altitude of the land has an effect on the temperatures. The land in China varies from low altitudes to very high altitudes of 3.3 meters to above 5500 meters (China Highlights). The city of Beijing is located in the Northern part of China with an altitude of 44 meters (China Highlights). The city of Beijing has a variety of weather temperatures as the seasons change. During the winter the atmosphere keeps Beijing colder with some snow and during the summer, the atmosphere keeps Beijing very hot. Ocean currents are something that do not have an effect on the control of temperature. China is already cozy between Mongolia, India, Myanmar, and other countries so most of the land is being bordered by land and not ocean waters. Beijing is about 2 hours west away from the ocean.

      The pollution levels in China have been going up each year and records show that the smog in the major cities of China has been barely making it suitable to live in (Deutsche Welle).  The air pollution has been rising to the maximum of 14 times the maximum level which could play a part in warming up the atmosphere and causing the annual temperatures to increase (Deutsche Welle). As the temperature increases there will be many plants and animals that will not know how to adapt very well. When the water of the ocean heats up year by year, it causes it to make stronger hurricanes and could potentially reach the city of Beijing. With the pollution increasing it could lead to drought which would affect not only Beijing but China in a whole.