People's Daily Online 19 Jan 09
The sea of China’s coastal waters in 2008 rose to their highest levels ever in almost 10 years and were, on average, 14 millimeters higher than in 2007 according to the Beijing News. Recently, an official from the National Marine Data and Information Service (NMDIS) pointed out that in the coming 30 years, China’s sea levels are expected to rise 80 to 130 millimeters higher than last year. However, no islands will be submersed by seawater for at least another century.
According to the 2008 Bulletin on China’s Maritime Environmental Quality released by the State Oceanic Administration, in the last 30 years the sea levels of China’s coastal waters have shown an overall upward fluctuating trend with an average increase of 2.6 millimeters per year, higher than the global average. The bulletin shows that the sea levels of coastal waters in southern China were noticeably higher than those in northern China. Chen Manchun, Director of the Environment Department of NMDIS said that although last year saw peak values in sea level rise, since rising sea levels have a greater impact on some detached island countries, as far as China is concerned, the present rising trend is not serious.
