Print

Mail

wiki links

Shorter winters in Asia due to global warming: scientists

Two ski resorts near Beijing have closed early this year because there wasn't enough snow, and the balmy weather has made it difficult for Mongolian families -- most of whom don't own freezers -- to store meat-filled buns and other traditional food.

Winter is under threat in many parts of Asia, and most scientists say global climate change is the cause.

"Winter is becoming shorter," said Benjamin Preston, a researcher at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization who coauthored a report last year on the impact of climate change on the Asia-Pacific region.

"Things that you associate with winter such as snowfall and frost are on the decline," he continued.

In places like South Korea, for example, some rivers reportedly failed to consistently freeze, for the first time ever. The warmer weather in Japan is expected to bring its famed cherry blossoms into bloom some 10 days early this year.

Warmer winters in Asia are part of a larger trend that saw record-high temperatures worldwide in January, according to the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's National Climate Data Center.

The combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for the month was 0.85oC warmer than the previous record set in 2002 which was itself 0.71oC above the norm.

Japan this year had one of the warmest winters on record and downtown Tokyo went without snow for the first time in 130 years, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Temperatures from December to last month matched the previous record high between December 1948 and February 1949 and Tokyo had no days that dipped below freezing this winter, the agency said.

The average temperature during winter months from December through February in Tokyo from 1971 and 2000 was 6.7oC, the agency said.

From December to Feb. 27 the average temperature was nearly a full 2oC higher, at 8.6oC, it said, which was the warmest on record.

Similar trends have been seen in other parts of Asia, with the Beijing Daily newspaper reporting that January temperatures across China were 1.4oC warmer than average.

Australia, New Zealand and Afghanistan have also seen warmer winters in recent years.

The effects of these trends are starting to become obvious.

Officials with the ski resorts in Xueshijie and Jundushan in China told reporters they had closed about a week early because of higher temperatures this year. Snowfall across Japan has also been lighter than usual.

Yulan Magnolia trees on Chang'an Avenue in downtown Beijing -- which normally blossom in late March -- were already in bud last month.

In Nanjing, the capital of China's Jiangsu Province, sweet-scented osmanthus also blossomed early.
This story has been viewed 1838 times.