China sea levels rise up to 130 mm in 20 years

A national scientific report estimated that China sea levels will rise up to 130 millimeters in the coming two decades, due to global warming. The Second National Assessment Report on Climate Change, a joint work of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China Meteorological Administration and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that rising temperature would lead to continuous rise of sea levels by 80 mm to 130 mm in 2030 compared with 2009. The report, which was released Tuesday, also said the average temperature of the land surface in China had increased 1.38 degrees centigrade from 1951 to 2009. China's glaciers have shrunk by 10 percent over the past 60 years as a result of rising temperatures, the report said. The report said sea levels around the municipalities of Tianjin and Shanghai as well as Guangdong Province are expected to climb 76 to 145 mm, 98 to 148 mm and 83 to 149 mm, respectively, in 2030. The absolute sea level of South China's Pearl River, the second largest river in China in terms of runoff volume, will see a rise of 90 to 210 mm in 2050. The rise in sea levels around China is predicted to submerge 18,000 square kilometers of coastal lowlands. The first report of this kind was released four years ago.