In 2024, China saw warmest year in decades, breaking records yet again

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken.

The national average temperature stood at 10.92 degrees Celsius (51.66 Fahrenheit) last year, more than 1 degree higher than 2023, according to weather.com.cn, a service portal run by the China Meteorological Administration.

The ten warmest years since records started in 1961 were all in the 21st century, the service portal said.

For densely populated Shanghai, China's financial hub, 2024 was the warmest since the Qing dynasty, data from the Shanghai meteorological bureau showed on Wednesday.

The city's average temperature stood at 18.8 Celsius, the hottest since Shanghai's meteorological records began in 1873.

Last year's warmer weather, accompanied by stronger storms and higher rainfall, led to spikes in power consumption in the world's second-largest economy.

Sweltering heat also affected agriculture in regions including the rice-growing south.

To safeguard its food security in the face of rising temperatures, China has embarked on research into adapting staple crops to heat.

Crop yields are expected to fall if alternatives are not found.

Scientists at a Beijing research facility found potatoes, of which China is the world's top producer, weighed less than 50% of typical varieties if they grew in a chamber set at 3 degrees Celsius above the norm.

Under current climate policies, the world faces warming of as much as 3.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, according to a United Nations report released in October.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Christina Fincher)