World Weather, Climate, and Society Projects |
Beijing, China Jessica Foster,
Jeff Lederman,
Andrew Warneck
Introduction
Desertification: Merely Climate Change or Fatal Threat to Beijing? Chinese climatic history is colored with desertification. Desertification is t he transformation of arable or habitable land to desert, by means of a change in climate or destructive land use.1 China is covered by deserts, however this becomes problematic during times of drought and aridity as the deserts expand and threaten local populations. The Gobi desert is the most threatening to Beijing, the capital of China. A study of desertification illustrates Beijing and China ’s weather, climate, and society of both the past and the present. Chinese climatic history of desertification should be taken as both a guide and a warning to scientists and policy makers concerned about current climatic conditions in Beijing. Several documented events in Chinese history hint that increasing aridity and drought associated with desertification presented problems to ancient peoples. In 1500 BC the ancient Chinese Yang-shao and Lung-shan cultures were overwhelmed by horse-riding people, invading from central Asia, a presumable signal of an early stage of increasing aridity and/or colder winters.3 A climate like the present one in China fostered great droughts around 1100 BC. This time marked a retraction of bamboo lines and disappearance of papyrus reeds hinting at a drying trend in climate.4 An analysis of trade and migrations can also be used as an indication that drought and desertification occurred and forced people from their place of origin. From 150 BC until AD 300, the Great Silk Road extended across Asia and acted as a mechanism for trade in luxuries from China.5 The Silk Road served as an avenue of cultural exposure and integration: introducing new languages, religions (Buddhism and Confucism), and commodities between the east and west. However, by the fourth century AD [as climatologists have determined from changes of the level of the Caspian Sea and studies of the intermittent rives, lakes, and abandoned settlements in Sinkiang and central Asia] drought developed on such a scale severe enough to stop traffic along this route.6 The encroachment of the deserts into the inhabited land along the route made life on the edges of the Talkimakan and Gobi Deserts difficult, and abandoned settlements were swallowed by the desert, making resettlement very difficult.7 Serious stages of drought also occurred between AD 300 and 800, as has been determined from old shorelines of the inland seas and old harbor installations which indicate low levels of the Caspian Sea.8 By AD 1100 and AD 1200 China experienced large amounts of snow and ice before the rest of the world. Some believe this cooler climate ultimately spread to the rest of the world to form the “Little Ice Age.” By AD 1700 evidences of warming occurred, however these were intermittently dispersed with very cold winters. By the twentieth century, global warming set in on a global and noticeable scale, and is currently most intimately affect China ’s recent history with the threat of the encroaching Gobi desert on China ’s capital, Beijing. Through evidences in the proxy record (harbor lines) and historical record (migrations), climatologists have been able to study Chinese climatic history. Clearly China has consistently been plagued with desertification since “the dawn of history.” Why then has desertification become an issue of such hype and hysteria in recent Chinese history? China suffers more than other countries to the devastating effects of desertification. Approximately 27.3% of China is desert and growing by 950 square miles each year.9 One explanation of current political attention to Chinese desertification could be because desertification is threatening Beijing: the Chinese capital, home to millions of people, and future host of the 2008 Olympics. The Gobi desert lurks a mere 100 miles outside Beijing, and slowly creeps towards the city at a rate of 2 miles per year threatening the future existence of the city.10 Is this just a sign of climatic change and another phase in Chinese climatic history, or, is the current desertification China is experiencing a call for greater concern due to the influence of anthropogenic forces? One sign of increasing desertification are dust storm frequency (wind erosion). Sandstorms consistently plague Beijing with sand dustings city wide. Furthermore, Beijing, along with at least 400 other Chinese cities, suffers from water shortages and droughts.11 Evidence of dust storm frequency for the past 2000 years indicates that the frequency of dust storms has gradually increased, and dramatically increased in the last 50 years. In addition, in the last 50 years, the average annual temperatures in China have increased by 0.5-2.0 degrees Celsius and precipitation has decreased.13 Since the late 1970s there has been increased concern worldwide about global warming and in China specifically about land desertification caused by climatic changes and human activities.14 In response, Chinese political leaders and scientists have attempted to work together to slow desertification and preserve the future of Beijing. China has announced it will spend more than one billion dollars ( US currency) during the next decade to stop forest shrinkage and rapid desertification.15 Methods include vegetation (shelter forests and air seeding to increase grass growth and plant coverage), engineering (constructing buildings and fences), chemical methods (bonding agents added to loose shifting sand to form a nonerodible crust), and land management practices.16 180,000 people living near Beijing will be forced to relocate, not because of immediate desertification danger, but to make room to implement these desertification stalling methods.17 Desertification has consistently haunted Chinese climatic history. However, recent evidence suggests that the Chinese might have a little more on their hands than the global climate change experienced by generations before them. While global warming and climate change are a world concern, the Chinese have an invested interest in combating the desert destruction of their capital city. If these methods prove futile and anthropogenic forces accelerate desertification, then Beijing could be the first victim in the battle against global warming.
Beijing, China Weather, Climate & Society Monsoons, Flooding & Droughts In terms of weather, on a more negative note, China has had the misfortune of being plagued annually by destructive monsoons. For centuries, these monsoons have had a devastating effect on China ’s agriculture, society and economy, but at the same time the persistence of the Chinese despite these demoralizing meteorological events shows their impressive unyielding character, strength and vigor. Monsoons are not a phenomenon limited specifically to the Chinese continent, but instead they wreak havoc indiscriminately in Africa and India as well. A monsoon is defined as, any of a type of major wind system that seasonally reverses its direction—e.g., one that blows for approximately six months from the northeast and six months from the southwest. The most prominent examples of such seasonal winds occur in southern Asia and in Africa. The monsoons that plague China are caused by a variety of factors, mainly because of contrasting temperatures between the Pacific Ocean and the Chinese continent. This temperature disparity is exaggerated with the changing of seasons as land temperatures fluctuate more rapidly than those of water.21 H.H. Lamb argues in Climate, History and the Modern World that the latitude of Southeast Asia also plays a factor in the prevalence of monsoons affecting China.22 Like many cultures throughout the world, China relies upon agriculture for much of its subsistence. This crop reliance presents a tedious situation because of the massive issues accompanying a crop failure. Prior to the sophisticated irrigation techniques available today, agriculture was very reliant on consistent rainfall for its survival. In China, droughts occurred from time to time depending on the climate in the time between monsoon seasons, and these rainless periods devastated crop yields. On the other hand, the monsoon period and flooding sometimes brought too much rain, destroying crops as well. Accompanying these droughts, floods and crop failures were the resulting famines which left many impoverished. In the mid-twentieth century the Chinese were finally able to deal better with the droughts and famine by importing vast quantities of grain and other commodities to offset their personal deficits.23 There is a very important reason that monsoons are not welcomed in China, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. This dictionary definition best describes monsoons, “a rainy season in southern Asia when the southwestern monsoon blows, bringing heavy rains.”24 While rains are always important for sustaining agricultural virility, in turn supplying the masses with nourishment, these Chinese monsoons are accompanied by overwhelming downpours that oftentimes do and have led to heavy and damaging flooding. Rivers regularly overflow in China due to the devastating effects of the summer monsoons. Thousands of people have to be evacuated yearly as swollen river banks, lakes and dams overflow.26 While oftentimes it seems that many regions are in dire need of water in order to maintain quality of life, at other times there is entirely too much water as a result of flooding. Throughout its history, Beijing and China as a whole have had to deal with their share of flooding. Surprisingly enough, flooding in China in the fourteenth century may be partially to blame for the disastrous spread of the epidemic known as the ‘Black Death.’ This flooding resulted from Beijing ’s location in a continental monsoon region with a very wet summer season. It is believed that heavy flooding completely wiped out the homes of rodents that resided near the damp river beds. Rodents just happened to be the primary carrier of the ‘Black Death.’ Through trade and other means these transient rodents eventually made their way to Europe, bringing along with them this horrible plague. As if this flooding that may have played a part in causing the onset of the ‘Black Death’ was not bad enough, it is also estimated that nearly as many as seven million Chinese perished during these fourteenth century floods.27 For the record, it is important to realize that this speculative hypothesis is nothing more than a theory, but an interesting one nonetheless. Beijing and China are obviously in a different climatic region as compared to the majority of the United States. Fortunately for the Chinese, technology and advancements have been developed to help limit the effects of the climate on society; irrigation to deal with droughts, dams and dykes to aid in flood diversion and control, and proper medicine to eradicate epidemics and combat other flood-related health tribulations. Between the monsoons, flooding, droughts and famines, Beijing and China seem to have been a formidable place to live, especially in the past with all the challenges involved in Asia ’s unforgiving climate.
The Perfect Conditions for Rice? An ancient Chinese proverb reads, “Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook.” In a comical manner, this proverb illustrates an important point - rice serves an essential function to the people of China. As the pivotal mediator between the Chinese people and the rice they consume, the weather, climate, and environment has played an integral role in rice’s production and utility, as well as the importance it plays within the culture. Ironically, something so integral to Chinese society may not indeed be sustainable for the future. Before discussing the important inter-dynamics between rice, people and the environment, it is necessary to briefly review the importance of rice in China. Rice is the staple food source of China, a country containing over 1.3 billion residents. Chinese officials report that the per capita energy intake of food is around 2,600 calories, where ¾ of their protein and 5/6 of their caloric intake come from grain – primarily rice.28 The government has gone to great lengths to feed their ever burgeoning population and it is a monumental undertaking. China produces 35% of the world’s total rice production, ranging from 171 million to 191 million metric tons annually over the past decade.29 Chinese mythology has expounded upon many of the critical elements that pertain to human existence: the division of the heavens and the earth, the creation of man, and the origins of rice. According to legend, rice’s origin is begins during the aftermath of a devastating storm thousands of years ago.30 The lands and rivers were flooded and food sources were scarce; every type of plant life was destroyed and no animals could be found. Seeing the hardships the people suffered, their gods sent to the people a dog whose fur was covered in yellow, peculiar looking seeds. The Chinese planted them, and months later, rice crops arose in abundance. While this myth is far-fetched, it is clear through the folklore that the people of China associate the gods’ benevolence with their gift of rice to the Chinese people. Having thousands of years to experiment with this gift from the gods, the Chinese discovered that rice production required a specific type of environment and climate to thrive. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, rice grows best in warm, humid, rainy regions.31 Typically, the temperature must average at least 70 degrees during the 18 week growing season and the average rainfall must be at least 45 inches per year, unless irrigation techniques are used to increase productivity. Due to the topographical complexity of China, the South and Central China are the primary rice-cultivating regions. These regions are hot and humid, averaging 40 inches of precipitation a year – primarily due to the summer monsoons. In the summer months of June, July and August for example, the Southern city of Guang-Zhou reflects this trend: Highs around 90 degrees, low around 80 degrees, and 28 inches of rain.32 Although the northern cities such as Beijing have comparably warm temperatures in the summer, averaging in the high 80’s low 90’s, they are not humid or rainy enough to produce large quantities of rice. In all of last year, for example it rained only 25 inches in the capitol. In most areas north of Qin Ling (a centrally located city), annual precipitation drops to 20 inches or less.33 New hybridization technology has allowed some small scale cultivation in the North, but nowhere near the level in the South and Central China – where over 90% of these crops are grown. When the sun shines from the heavens, the rain pours down, and the rice rises up, it is monumental occasion warranting the second most important celebration in Chinese culture. The festival of Dong Zhi, held in late December, was historically a time following the harvesting of the crops and the storing of the rice in preparation for the long winter ahead. Chinese winters were extremely harsh and harvesting and storing rice was essential for any communities’ survival – especially the poor. Back then, as they do today, families joined together to “share food, stay warm, and keep spirits high”.34 They ate piping-hot fatty balls of rice called “Tan Yuan” to symbolically remain hopeful and prosperous through the upcoming cold months. The pervasiveness of the tenuous relationship between the weather and human survival, both physically and culturally, is demonstrated through this most important holiday. Rice provides so much for the Chinese people, but many people are unaware of the deleterious effects its production has on the environment. Across the globe, it is estimated that rice paddies emit around 50 to 100 million tons of methane, making it one of the four largest human sources of this greenhouse gas in the world.35 East Asia accounts for 90% of these emissions, while China itself is responsible for 35%. The methane producing process is described below. The war, waterlogged soil of rice paddies provides ideal conditions for methangonesis, and though some of the methane produced is usually oxidized by methanotrophs in the shallow, overlying water, the vast majority is released into the atmosphere. As is well known, methane and other greenhouse gases’ contribution to global warming is a serious problem that can have disastrous implications for our public health and ecosystem. Even with the population laws aimed at curbing childbirth in China, the population of China is continuing to grow and correspondingly their need for rice. Many suggestions have been proposed to help mitigate the effects of these wetland emissions -such as refraining entirely from using submerged rice fields, cultivating rice on upland terrains, or changing the type of fertilizer used in production. However, the most effective solutions to the problem are always the most difficult to implement. For example, methane production would dramatically decrease if one could prevent rice fields from becoming submerged in waters, but rice is usually submerged naturally due to the monsoon rains. Draining the fields during the monsoons would be almost impossible, and highly expensive. Other proposed remedies have their own specific costs and benefits, but as of yet no comprehensive, realistic solution has been developed.37 Until this occurs, the situation in China, and the world at large, gets worse by the day. At this point in time, there are no signs suggesting that China will abandon their “rice culture”, and weather and climate will both influence and be impacted by rice production for years to come. Scientific research is advancing by the day and we will eventually find a solution to this rice methane problem. Hopefully, this paper has been able to illustrate how important the dynamic relationship between rice, the weather and climate, and Chinese society, and how a subject that on surface may appear to be dull to some can be rather exciting and educational. Conclusion A special thanks to Professor James Fleming who made this all possible. Group 18 dedicates our Beijing portion of this website to you; hopefully it will prove helpful in your future travels. 1 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
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