Tag Archives: China

An unsupervised flower shop operated by a college student in Beijing is attracting many young customers, Chinese media reported. Different from traditional shops in the capital, the young storekeeper surnamed Wang opened the first unsupervized flower … read more

LilacSat-1, a satellite developed by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology. [Photo/China Daily] A nanosatellite made by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology was launched in the United States on Tuesday as part of a mission to the… read more

Chinese scientist Yao Tandong received 2017 Vega Medal in Stockholm on Wednesday, recognizing his contributions to research on glaciers and the environment on the Tibetan Plateau.

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded 2017 Vega Medal to Prof. Yao at the Royal Palace of Stockholm on Wednesday afternoon, and congratulated him personally for his outstanding achievements.

Sten Hagberg, chairman of Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (SSAG) said that Yao’s “basic researches on ‘the Third Pole’, monsoon and glaciers” are crucial to the understanding of the process of climate change. “His researches also concerns more than two billion population, it is a global topic”, Hagberg added.

Earlier, SSAG announced Professor Yao as 2017 Vega Medal laureate, for his outstanding contributions to glacier research and to the society at large.

His research focuses on glaciers and environment on the Tibetan Plateau, especially within the cryospheric research field.

Yao is internationally acknowledged as one of the most accomplished scientists in the field of cryospheric study. He has led several research programs — often together with American, French, German and Japanese scientists — in the last 20 years.

One of his later works shows that global warming, as causing the decline of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, interact with Indian monsoon winds and westerly winds. The research program Third Pole Environment (TPE) which is led by Professor Yao, has become internationally significant.

China has published stricter regulations on officials’ personal information declarations, requiring them to report to the Communist Party of China (CPC) their personal and family assets and investments, marital status and overseas travel, among others… read more

Winter weather conditions that prevent air pollutants from dispersing in Beijing could be affected by climate change and lead to longer and more frequent periods of smog, scientists have found.

Conducive weather conditions are a key contributor to severe haze, when PM2.5 — fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter — harms health and causes economic disruption, according to the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology.

As global warming causes large-scale circulation changes, the frequency and duration of such weather will increase by 50 percent and 80 percent respectively between 2050 and 2099 compared with last century, a study has found.

The lab’s findings were published online recently by Nature Climate Change, an international science journal.

“Although it is believed that haze is caused by pollutants from exhaust fumes and industrial emissions, the impact from weather conditions shouldn’t be dismissed,” said Cai Wenju, the lead author of the report.

Cai said the conducive weather conditions include weaker surface winds in the north and mid-troposphere winds in the northwest, and a stronger thermal stability in the lower atmosphere.

“These conditions are disadvantageous for driving away haze, and instead cause it to accumulate,” Cai added.

The report states the predicted increase in frequency and duration is consistent with atmospheric changes brought about by global warming, such as to Arctic winds, weaker East Asian winter monsoons and faster warming of the lower troposphere.

The Qingdao laboratory is also carrying out major scientific projects, including “Transparent Ocean”, in support of the accurate prediction of the marine environment and climate change.

“Haze management is a common responsibility of all countries worldwide,” said Pan Kehou, secretary-general of the lab’s academic committee. The lab “will take responsibility in leading and promoting internationalcooperation on energy saving and emissions reduction with scientific research institutions from other countries and regions, and in contributing to a better environment and development of ecological civilization”.

Last month, the United States-based journal Science Advances published a study on China’s haze.

The study said extreme haze in winter would likely occur at a higher frequency in China as a result of the changing boreal cryosphere, such as Arctic sea ice loss in the preceding autumn and extensive boreal snowfall in early winter, posing challenges for mitigating winter haze.