At the conference, senior engineer Qi-Yi Wang from the National Climate Monitoring Room expressed that the trend of global warming has not changed. The colder phenomena in recent years is only a relatively short-term phenomenon. Director Zhen-Lin Chen of the Department of Emergency Rescue, Disaster Relief and Public Services of the China Meteorological Administration further pointed out that the claim of an impending Little Ice Age is completely baseless.
At the press conference, Director Zhen-Lin Chen of the Department of Emergency Rescue, Disaster Relief and Public Services of the China Meteorological Administration introduced major weather events abroad in January. He reported that since late January, rare cold waves and heavy snowstorms have occurred in central and eastern Europe, with some areas experiencing the lowest temperatures in a century, causing transportation disruptions, flight delays, and resulting in 306 deaths by February 6. Since winter began, most parts of Japan have been hit by continuous heavy snowfall, with the maximum snow depth in some areas exceeding 4 meters, leading to 74 deaths by February 7.
In response to this report, a journalist asked, "Regarding the extreme cold in Eurasia, we would like to know the cause? Does this kind of weather contradict global warming? What will be the future trend? Why does large-scale extreme cold occur when global warming and temperature rise?"
"Actually, regarding global warming, Academician Yi-Hui Ding, deputy director of the National Climate Change Expert Committee of the China Meteorological Administration, has provided a relatively authoritative explanation: the actual trend of global warming has not changed," Qi-Yi Wang responded accordingly.
He analyzed that the time scale of these few years is relatively short and cannot represent long-term trends. Long-term trends generally refer to a 30-year period. Over such a 30-year average, we see that this trend has not changed. For example, from the 1980s to 2010, this 30-year average still shows an upward trend compared to previous periods. Therefore, from the perspective of long-term climate change, this long-term trend has not changed.
"The colder phenomena in recent years are just relatively short-term, as if a few cool breezes blow on a warm day, giving a sense of chill," said Qi-Yi Wang.
Zhen-Lin Chen stated that according to data analysis by the World Meteorological Organization and Chinese meteorological departments, parts of Eurasia experienced four cold wave attacks, with continuous low temperatures lasting more than 20 days, reaching historical lows in some places. Media reports mentioned casualties caused by the cold and snowstorms, which is a fact.
"The reasons have already been discussed, mainly due to the abnormal atmospheric circulation since January. Historical data analysis shows that this year's cold in Eurasia, including Europe, was not as strong as the one from 2009 to 2010, which lasted throughout February, nor as impactful as the cold air movement in 2006," said Zhen-Lin Chen.
He pointed out that therefore, it should be said that we cannot conclude that global warming has stopped or reversed based on short-term extreme low-temperature phenomena in certain places. In analyzing the situation in North America during the same period, such as in the United States, not only was the average temperature not low, but it was much higher than normal, reaching over 30 degrees Celsius, significantly higher than usual.
"The theory that global warming has ended or turned cold does not apply at all in North America. We look at climate change issues over a long period, including local fluctuations within the global scope and interannual changes, which are all normal phenomena. The claim of an impending Little Ice Age is entirely baseless," Zhen-Lin Chen concluded.