China is grappling with a concerning rise in sea levels along its coastline, reaching record highs for the second consecutive year. The rate of sea level rise in China’s coastal areas has outpaced the global average, posing a significant threat to populous coastal cities like Shanghai, a key financial hub. According to officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources cited in a CNN report, China’s coastal sea levels in 2022 were 94 millimeters (3.7 inches) higher than the “normal” levels, defined as the average from 1993 to 2011, marking the highest recorded since 1980. This worrisome trend is causing growing concerns about the impacts of climate change in the region.
Wang Hua, the head of the marine forecasting and monitoring department at China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, has highlighted the concerning rise in sea levels along China’s coastlines. Wang stated that the swell in 2022 was 10 mm higher than the previous record set in 2021. Attributing the increase in sea levels to global warming, Wang noted that the temperature of China’s coastal waters has risen significantly, further exacerbating the acceleration in sea level rise. According to Wang, China has experienced an average sea level rise of 3.5 mm per year since 1980 and an average of 4.0 mm per year since 1993, which is higher than the global rate over the same periods.
This aligns with data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which shows that the global mean sea level has risen at an average rate of 3.4 mm per year over the past three decades. These findings highlight the urgent need for action to address the impacts of climate change on China’s coastlines and vulnerable coastal communities.
China’s coastal areas are home to approximately 45% of the country’s massive population of around 1.4 billion people, and contribute to over half of the country’s economic output. Major cities like Shanghai, known as China’s most developed and wealthiest city, as well as Tianjin and Shenzhen, which are important port and technology hubs, are located along the Chinese coast.
The impacts of rising sea levels on China’s coast have already been felt over the past four decades, resulting in long-term effects such as coastal ecosystem erosion and loss of tidal flats. Additionally, there have been disruptions to groundwater supply and increased damage from storms, floods, and salt tide intrusion, as highlighted by Wang Hua. These findings underscore the growing concerns about the consequences of sea level rise on China’s coastal areas and the need for effective measures to address this pressing issue.