From extreme drought and typhoons to growing renewable energy capacity, here are the key environmental stories shaping China in 2024
From inch-per-hour rainfall to a solar farm the size of 16,000 soccer fields, China is at the forefront of the global reaction to climate change. In 2024, China, like many countries around the world, faced another year of extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, and typhoons. At the same time, as a key political player in the global climate change equation, China is also making strides in the realms of sustainability and climate mitigation. Here is a roundup of the top environmental and climate news from China in 2024:
Drought and extreme heat
A year ago, when 2023 was determined as China’s hottest year on record, Zhou Bing, the chief expert of China’s National Climate Center, offered a foreboding warning on state broadcaster CCTV. “2024 may be hotter, and it could also be a year when extreme weather events become more frequent and powerful.”
Zhou’s prediction is proven accurate, as in the spring of 2024, drought and heat plagued central China. The country experienced its hottest recorded year in 2024. The National Climate Center reported that the national average temperature from March to May 2024 reached 12.3 degrees Celsius, marking the highest spring temperature since 1961. Abnormally high temperatures persisted until September in the Sichuan and Chongqing regions, causing many schools to delay the start of the fall semester.
Henan experienced a hectic summer with extreme drought in June and severe flooding in August (VCG)
Agricultural hubs like Henan, Shandong, and Anhui provinces were also severely affected by drought. In mid-June, severe drought affected 63 percent of Henan’s arable land, as reported by the Henan Provincial Climate Center. Local authorities were able to mitigate the drought by increasing water flow from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir Dam, the largest on the Yellow River, and conducting artificial rain enhancement operations using drones, planes, and rockets. Thanks to these measures and the northward shift of the rain belt in July (which unfortunately caused extreme downpours and flooding in some regions), the damage to grain production of 2024 is minimal. However, this year’s drought still signals a hotter and drier China. Between 1985 and 2023, the average annual temperature rose almost 2 degrees Celsius, and weather conditions like this will likely continue or worsen in the future. How local officials can manage the already occurring impacts of climate change will be an important story to follow.
Drenched in rainfall
As spring turned to summer, heavy rainfall caused widespread devastation across southern China, with Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces being the most severely impacted. In May, torrential rain contributed to the collapse of the Meilong Expressway, claiming 48 lives—one of the deadliest events linked to heavy rainfall in 2024.
Meizhou, a city in Guangdong, reported unprecedented rainfall that forced mass evacuations and triggered landslides, flooding, and power outages from June to July. Locals described the deluge as “never before seen.” The flooding displaced over 150,000 residents and resulted in 47 deaths. According to the State Ministry of Emergency Management, during the 2024 flood season, southern China experienced 40 percent higher flood levels than the historical average.
In northeastern China, extreme rainfall also wreaked havoc. Huludao in Liaoning province suffered catastrophic flooding in August, with 25 lives lost. Some areas of the city experienced over 25 inches of rainfall in 24 hours, and a year’s worth of rainfall in just half a day, marking the strongest recorded rainfall in the area since meteorological records began being collected in 1951.
Over 1,000 people lost their homes or had their houses damaged during the flooding in Huludao, Liaoning province, in August (VCG)
Typhoons, growing in power as the oceans warmed, smashed over other areas of the country. In August, the remnants of Typhoon Gaemi brought extreme rainfall to Hunan province, leaving over 94 people dead or missing. In September, Typhoon Yagi blew through Southeast Asia and southern China, forcing the evacuation of over 1 million people in Hainan, Guangxi, and Guangdong. Then, Typhoon Bebinca ran into Shanghai as the largest storm to hit the city in at least the last 75 years.
Nationwide, floods and related geological disasters affected 50.38 million people during the first three quarters of 2024. These events resulted in 703 deaths or missing persons and caused direct economic losses of nearly 236 billion yuan, which accounts for 73 percent of the total economic loss in the first three quarters.
Extreme rainfall also significantly impacted vegetable prices across the country this summer, pushing them to a ten-year high. “Cucumbers have gotten so expensive that I don’t even include them in my weight-loss meals anymore,” a Beijing resident told the 21st Century Business Herald in August, after noticing that the same cucumber he had previously bought for 2.79 yuan was now priced at 7.99 yuan, almost tripling in price. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, leafy vegetables, on average, experienced the steepest price hike across the country, increasing from 2.98 yuan per kilogram to 5.51 yuan per kilogram between June and August—an 85 percent rise. Though prices began to return to normal levels in September, it’s clear that such hikes are unlikely to be a one-time occurrence, as climate change continues to drive more extreme weather conditions.
Carbon peaking in sight
While China suffers the increasing dangers of a heating-up planet, it also continues to make significant strides in decarbonizing its economy, reinforcing its role as a global leader in climate change mitigation. As the world’s largest carbon emitter, the Chinese government has committed to its “dual carbon” pledge, aiming for two goals: first, to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and second, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. In 2024, China’s CO₂ emissions are projected to rise modestly by 0.4 percent, a trend that aligns with experts’ predictions that the country’s emissions will peak by 2030.
The tempered rise in emissions is partly attributed to a slowdown in economic growth, especially in the real estate and construction sectors. While record-high temperatures have driven up electricity demand, leading to increased coal and gas power generation, reduced emissions from steel, cement, and oil production have offset much of this growth. However, a newly unveiled fiscal stimulus package aimed at revitalizing the economy introduces uncertainties, potentially complicating the country’s emissions trajectory in the coming years.
Renewable capacity continues to grow
China’s commitment to clean energy development remained robust in 2024, with substantial investments in renewable energy. Solar energy continued its record-breaking streak, adding 163 gigawatts (GW) in the first nine months of 2024—equivalent to the total solar capacity of Germany, Spain, Italy, and France combined. In June, the state-owned Power Construction Corp of China announced that the world’s largest solar farm, the Hami Solar Thermal Power Plant, was now connected to the electricity grid. Located in Xinjiang’s Gobi desert, the plant covers nearly 33,000 acres, or over 16,000 soccer fields. The world’s second and third largest solar plants are also in western China’s Ningxia and Qinghai regions.
Wind power also saw growth, with 38 GW added by September. Non-fossil fuel energy sources now account for approximately 55 percent of China’s total installed power capacity, with wind and solar contributing over 17 percent of the nation’s electricity generation.
China is cementing its position as a global leader in renewable energy development, with projections indicating it will account for nearly 60 percent of all new renewable capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030.
More responsibility?
The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), held in Azerbaijan in November, highlighted China’s evolving role in the global fight against climate change, particularly as the re-election of Donald Trump casts uncertainty over US involvement. A central issue in 2024 revolved around China’s status and responsibilities as both the world’s largest carbon emitter and an economic powerhouse. Historically, the COP framework has operated under the principle that wealthier nations should provide climate finance to poorer, developing countries, which contribute the least to climate change but face its most severe impacts.
China, traditionally classified as a developing nation under the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has not been obligated to provide such financial assistance. However, its rise as the world’s second-largest economy with significantly higher per-capita income than most developing countries has prompted calls, particularly from developing nations, for China (and India) to be reclassified as developed nations. Chinese representatives have resisted these calls, adhering to the original UNFCCC classification and arguing that China has no formal obligation to fund other nations’ climate adaptation efforts.
Despite this, China has voluntarily contributed over 24 billion dollars in climate finance since 2016, according to government representatives. Global expectations for China’s role in climate finance are set to grow. How China navigates these demands could have far-reaching implications for the future of multilateral climate funding and the broader global effort to combat climate change.
Cover image from VCG
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