As China heats up in record heat, John Kerry urges Beijing on climate change

In China's far western sandstone desert, a local weather station recorded a record temperature of 126 degrees. In central China, heat-induced mechanical problems have trapped tourists on a cable car in the air.
The heat wave suffocating China is so intense that it even became a repeated topic of discussion for John Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate change, as he met with the Chinese premier on Tuesday in Beijing to discuss cooperation on slowing global warming.
"You and I know things change," Kerry told Prime Minister Li Qiang as he sat in the Great Hall of the People, at the edge of Tiananmen Square. He mentioned reports of the temperature in the western Xinjiang region on Sunday, which a commentator from the China Meteorological Association called it the highest he had seen in the country.

"Over the past few weeks, scientists have expressed more concern than ever about what is happening on the planet," said Kerry, who also met separately with Wang. Yi, a senior Chinese foreign policy official.
Indeed, the Chinese capital itself offered further proof of the urgency of tackling climate change: Tuesday was the 27th day this year that Beijing recorded temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, or 95 degrees Fahrenheit - the most days in a year since records began.
The heat wave, which engulfed much of northwest China, as well as parts of the northeast and southwest, is part of an exceptionally hot spell worldwide entire. Much of the United States is also bracing for record temperatures. Experts have called several days in early July likely the hottest in Earth's modern history.
Mr. Kerry said he hoped China would curb the rapid expansion of its coal-fired power plants and reduce its use of methane, a greenhouse gas. China has resisted these measures, arguing that it is a developing country that must continue to use fossil fuels to support its economic development. Mr. Kerry's visit to Beijing this week marked the resumption of climate talks between the United States and China, the world's biggest polluters, which had been stalled since August.
Image"You and I know things change," Kerry said during his meeting with the Prime Minister China's Li Qiang in Beijing.Credit...Pool photo by Florence Lo
In China, average surface temperatures in the country have risen faster than the global average since the turn of the 20th century, according to a report released this month by China's National Climate Center. Last year, when the country was hit by another prolonged heatwave, China recorded its 'most extreme high-temperature events' since 1961. Leaders have suggested the heat could threaten the food security of the China.
A study published in April in the journal Nature Communications identified the region around Beijing as one of the most exposed to extreme heat in the world.
The spike in temperatures, which officials say has begun

World Jul 18, 2023 0 40 Add to Reading List

As China heats up in record heat, John Kerry urges Beijing on climate change

In China's far western sandstone desert, a local weather station recorded a record temperature of 126 degrees. In central China, heat-induced mechanical problems have trapped tourists on a cable car in the air.

The heat wave suffocating China is so intense that it even became a repeated topic of discussion for John Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate change, as he met with the Chinese premier on Tuesday in Beijing to discuss cooperation on slowing global warming.

"You and I know things change," Kerry told Prime Minister Li Qiang as he sat in the Great Hall of the People, at the edge of Tiananmen Square. He mentioned reports of the temperature in the western Xinjiang region on Sunday, which a commentator from the China Meteorological Association called it the highest he had seen in the country.

"Over the past few weeks, scientists have expressed more concern than ever about what is happening on the planet," said Kerry, who also met separately with Wang. Yi, a senior Chinese foreign policy official.

Indeed, the Chinese capital itself offered further proof of the urgency of tackling climate change: Tuesday was the 27th day this year that Beijing recorded temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, or 95 degrees Fahrenheit - the most days in a year since records began.

The heat wave, which engulfed much of northwest China, as well as parts of the northeast and southwest, is part of an exceptionally hot spell worldwide entire. Much of the United States is also bracing for record temperatures. Experts have called several days in early July likely the hottest in Earth's modern history.

Mr. Kerry said he hoped China would curb the rapid expansion of its coal-fired power plants and reduce its use of methane, a greenhouse gas. China has resisted these measures, arguing that it is a developing country that must continue to use fossil fuels to support its economic development. Mr. Kerry's visit to Beijing this week marked the resumption of climate talks between the United States and China, the world's biggest polluters, which had been stalled since August.

Image"You and I know things change," Kerry said during his meeting with the Prime Minister China's Li Qiang in Beijing.Credit...Pool photo by Florence Lo

In China, average surface temperatures in the country have risen faster than the global average since the turn of the 20th century, according to a report released this month by China's National Climate Center. Last year, when the country was hit by another prolonged heatwave, China recorded its 'most extreme high-temperature events' since 1961. Leaders have suggested the heat could threaten the food security of the China.

A study published in April in the journal Nature Communications identified the region around Beijing as one of the most exposed to extreme heat in the world.

The spike in temperatures, which officials say has begun